A Twist of Fate
by ArenCordial
Summary: What if Chris and Jill's battle against Wesker at the Spencer Estate had ended differently and they are forced to reexamine their friendship.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic and I don't have spell check so sorry.

Chris

The echo of their footsteps was putting Chris Redfield on edge. The long hallway seemed to amplify their every step as though to spite Chris' desire for a quiet approach. The stone flooring of the estate, coupled with the even steps delivered by the pair's boots had forced their advance to slow down in order to minimize the sound created by the BSAA agents. This close to their objective Chris wanted nothing to go wrong.

Luckily the sound of the rain pelting the estates walls and the occasional roar of thunder from the storm outside helped to disguise some of their movements which made their exploration of the estate to at least proceed at a slow but bearable pace.

Chris quietly closed the door to the room they had just sweeped as a stroke of lightning flashed causing the shadows in the old estate to somehow grow darker. The woman to his right seemed to almost jump. His partner's features were tight as she gave him the nod to continue on. He gave her a little smile, which she returned but didn't quite manage to make sincere. Chris could hardly blame her. Along time ago both Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine had reached the conclusion they held no love for mansions, estates, palaces, or castles of any kind. They both were on edge tonight.

_Too many bad memories, but hopefully we'll be able to take another step towards ending our nightmares tonight._

Only one room left to check, the library. They started off towards that end of the large dwelling.

They were in the estate of Ozwell E. Spencer, a former founder and president of Umbrella. Chris and Jill had spent years trying to hunt Spencer down and make him pay for his crimes, for all the dead of the Raccoon City, and the many more since. In the two decades the partners had spent fighting Umbrella and bioterrorism they had brought many of those responsible to justice. All except two: Spencer and their former S.T.A.R.S captain Albert Wesker. Tonight Chris intended to make Spencer answer for his crimes and hopefully get clues to the location of their last quarry.

_Joseph, Forest, Enrico_.......The names of the fallen S.T.A.R.S members Wesker had personally killed or lead to their deaths had become a litany to Chris long ago.

Chris and Jill had received a tip a week past from an old acquaintance that worked for the US government that someone matching Spencer's description had been seen traveling through a small European town towards private estate off in the nearby mountains. The two had wasted no time in arranging transportation and heading off on their own to determine the truth of the intel, not even informing the BSAA of their plans. Anytime the BSAA had recieved any information on Spencer they had always seemed to be one step behind, arriving only found an empty residence. It had happened enough the Chris hadn't been willing to take the risk and report the lead at all.

Spencer has the money, he just need to find someone to buy and apparently it didn't take him too long, the question is who though.

Jill cocked her Beretta, signaling to Chris the doors 10 yards away was their target. He glanced back at her to indicate her understood. Over nearly a decade of having Jill Valentine as his partner had led to them to develop a strong understanding of each others body language that allowed them to communicate easily. Smoothly they leaned up against the door and he looked at her once more, catching Jill's blue eyes with his own gaze. He found her ready and with but a quick nod of his head the silence they had been maintaining disappeared.

Each slamming one of the double doors open the ran to the room with their weapons ready to cut anyone or anything down.

Chris would have been lying though if said he was ready for what he found. Down near the end of the elaborately decorated room, just before the windows that lead to a magnificent view of the mountains outside was an emtpy wheelchair. Lying next to it was an old man in a pool of blood with a hole in his chest the size of a hand......Spencer. It was not the dead founder of Umbrella that brought shock to Chris' system but the tall man that stood gazing out at the view below, with his back turned. The blond hair gave away the man's identity even before he turned around, red eyes shining through his sunglasses as though in answer to the lightning storm outside.

"Wesker," the name left Chris' mouth like an oath. Chris fired as Jill's own sidearm went off. They must have emptied half their clips for all the good it did them. Wesker moved like the monster he was and Chris' eyes couldn't even follow the movement. It was too fast. Wesker reappear for a second then was gone again as he reappeared closer. Suddenly his former captain was thrusting his arms down in a bone hurting grip forcing Chris to drop his weapon. An elbow hit him in the stomach followed by an uppercut to the jaw that launched him off him off his feet into the air only to land on his back.

Jill kept firing and Wesker seemed unconcerned, dodging each shot with inhuman speed moving ever closer to his partner. Suddenly Wesker disarmed her and slammed Jill into the wooden pillar behind her, her legs over a foot off the ground. Smug satisfaction on the man's face, struggle on Jill's face has she tried to break free to take a breathe.

_Get off her you bastard._

Adrenaline hit Chris like a welcome breeze on a hot day, and he was moving, concern for himself gone. He slammed his body into the other man with enough impact to surprise him. Jill dropped to the floor, as Chris spun throwing a straight with enough force to put a hole in a wall only to find air left by Wesker's evasion. Chris didn't give any quarter throwing follow up blows only to have the first deflected. The second rushed to meet his enemy's face only to find it stop an inch from its target. Caught by Wesker. Wesker smirked applying pressure that made his hand scream in pain before spinning underneath Chris's arms the forcing them down to give him a clear punch to head. Chris used the force of the blow to spin himself around launching a kick in response. Also caught.

_He's too fast, think Chris think._

Gun fire entered the air and suddenly Chris was flying through the air by a powerful push beforce landing in a heap._ Jill, hold on I'm coming._ Chris was already running when he heard the click of an empty clip. Wesker seemed almost surprised by how quick Chris has responded but unfortunately not surprised enough that Chris' attack was again blocked and countered by a fist that spun him around.

Chris turned back only to see Jill flying across the room and into a book case. Chris' anger flared and he threw himself at Wesker. With Jill apparently out of the fight Wesker gave him all his attention. Wesker hit him again with that bone breaking force once, twice, dazing him. The room spun and suddenly he felt himself lifted into the air. Pain exploded through out his head and back as he was body slammed. He could dimly hear Wesker's growl and he felt himself moving only to have new pain hit his back and head as he was thrown into the floor.

He tried to focus but for the life of him, Chris couldn't seem to find anything to center his thoughts on and clear his confusion. He felt himself be lifted by his jacket. He tried to struggle but it was naught.

"NNNNNOOOOOOOO"

A woman's scream of pain brought Chris to. _Jill._

He saw her then running as if her life depended on it straight towards him....and Wesker, as the other man said something he didn't quite catch while he moved his arm back into what Chris knew would be his death strike.

_What are you doing Jill! Run away while he's distracted._

Like a gunshot her intention him. _No. _ Jill collided with them and the sound of shattering glass brought fear into Chris' life like never before. Chris Redfield had lived with fear for years now. It was an old friend. Still he wasn't prepared for the terror that raced through his heart. Blindly as he was still propelled through the air he reached for her leg. Praying to grab her before gravity enforced its law. His hand met something.

_Got you._

Violently Chris hit the floor at the edge of the shattered window. His hands holding her leg. His right arm was forced down onto the jagged shatter glass from the window. It took all his mental will to force himself not to let go as the glass tore into his arm. Suddenly he found himself sliding out the window and had to catch himself by bracing against the wall with his legs and then he saw why.

Just as he held on to Jill's leg, the monster that haunted his dreams held onto her harness that was fit around her shoulders. Wesker holding on to Jill as desperately as Chris was. The weight of both of them edge them ever closer to the fall below. Panic set it.

He heard Jill's voice from below. "Chris, let me go its the only way!"

"Undo your belt and harness, I won't let you go," he yelled back.

"I can't reach the buckle," her voice was laced with a fear he was experiencing all too keenly.

A nasally voice full of mockery drifted up "Come now Chris, is this anyway to treat your old Captain? I have the strength to hold myself her all day, maybe we should stay like this until you either pull us up or your arms give out and you watch us fall. I might live, Jill though...."

Chris's rage returned to help override his fear. "I'm going to finish you today you bastard, leave her out of this!"

Chris's arms were on fire, from the weight of the two dangling people hanging outside the estate's windows, he also felt the glass continue to cut into his arm as keep trying to hold onto Jill's leg. He was straining his body beyond what it could take in his state. He needed to think of something soon. Pull them up and Wesker would just finish the job he started. Let Jill go and......that wasn't an option. Even now he could hear her pleading with him to let her go, telling him it would be ok.

_Come on Redfield, you've been spending the last 3 years hitting the gym with all your free time. This is why you built those muscles, hold on and figure something out._

Suddenly it hit him through his dazed mind. He had fought Wesker once before. It had been years ago, when he had been trying to find his sister. He had been outmatched then as now. He remembered the shock of finding out Wesker had survived the Arklay mansion, and floored by his virus granted strength, toughness, and speed. Wesker had seemed like some supervillian, he had even been fast enough to run up walls.

_He's doing exactly what he said. He could probably run right up Jill's body but he is waiting for me to drop her, just so he can taunt me with the guilt. Well lets see how fast you really are._

Wesker had been fast enough to run up walls but not so fast that Chris hadn't been able to follow his movements. Chris became very aware of the combat knife on his jacket's front, faced downwards for quick access. If you ever asked Chris Redfield what he thought his area's of expertise were he would tell you three things. 1. Flying Jets 2. Killing BOWs and 3. Pissing off his superiors. He was about to do two of those three.

Faking a sob he spoke in a cracked voice. "Jill, I'm so sorry. I don't have the strength."

Wesker's smirk suddenly turned to a growl and he pulled himself up towards Jill's body in a flash as though doing a one-handed pull up. He seemed to sprint up her body, eyes flashing ferally for the kill. Tightening his grip on Jill with his right hand he let his left move shoot towards his knife. In one motion it was free and he buried it into Wesker's eye. A scream erupted from the blond man as he flailed about in agony. Using his right arm he swung Jill away from the now falling man so he would be able to hold onto nothing this time. Chris felt the shards from the window cut up his arm as he swung her away and watched Wesker fall to the abyss below.

Gently, Chris pulled his partner up making sure she would avoid the glass that rimmed the edges of the broken window. At last she was inside, she was safe. He pulled her towards him. Jill's eyes were wide with fear, her hair was blown from the wind but his eyes drank in her features all the same.

"Sorry if I scared you," his voice sounded hoarse to his own ears.

She silently hit his arm, though there was no force behind it. It was hit a friend gave to another for worrying them, though the act seemed an automatic response since she still seemed too frazzled to manage much else. Slowly he scooted over to the wall to be able to lean up against it as he held her. Finally the toll on his body took hold and he felt his vision start to dim. Surprisingly as unconsciousness claimed him his thoughts were not of the satisfaction of finally causing Wesker pain, but instead were of a pair pale blue eyes.

Check back soon for chapter 2.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic.

Jill

For a while the only thing Jill Valentine could hear was the beating of her own heart in her ears. It wasn't until another round of thunder and lightning from the storm outside that Jill snapped out of her panic, forcing herself to slow her breathing and not take as deep of breathes.

_That was too close._

Slowly she started to take stock of the situation. Her ribs hurt badly from when Wesker had punched her and sent her flying through the air into one of the library's book shelves, deep breathes were causing her sharp pains. _My back and neck don't feel so hot either, I'll have some good bruises for a while._ Jill had heard more than once Chris' story about fighting Wesker on Rockfort Island, about their former captain's new abilities, and still she was no where near prepared for the reality of it. Wesker had been so fast she had emptied all of her ammunition at him and didn't manage as much as grazing him. _And strong too._ Chris was 200 lbs of muscle these days and might have well been a rag doll for all the good it did him.

Jill's back was against the wall, near the window that almost claimed her life. She knew she would eventually have to get a bit of medical attention, but she was ok for now. Her injuries were not life threatening. She could feel Chris's shoulder next to her own, so she gave him a little nudge to let him know she was alright.

"Chris, the next time we come to Europe its on vacation and you can be the one hanging out the window. I lost my best hat," she joked in an attempt to act light-hearted.

Silence.

Jill's head snap to her left, eyes taking in her partner at once. His eyes were closed and head tilted down to the side away from her. He was pale, too pale. Her hand flew without an conscious thought to his neck feeling for a pulse. She saw then the blood that coated her fingers. Her eyes shot down to where her hand had been and she saw the source. A small pool of blood had collected where her hand had been and laid near Chris' right arm. His arm was a mess. Multiple shards of glass had been embedded into it and it looked as though others had been dragged across his forearm leaving deep cuts. A hiss escaped from between her teeth and the fear she had just fought off returned with renewed vigor.

_There! I felt it. A pulse. _It wasn't very strong but it was enough.

Quickly she took off her jacket, then started to remove the shards and clean the wound as well as she could. She pulled her first aid spray and emptied the cartridge over his arm. The spray would help disinfect the wound and help knit some of the skin back together. Taking her jacket she tied it around the arm to provide pressure and help slow the bleeding. Finally she gave him a quick injection. A concoction of the BSAA labs, the injection was part pain killer, part adrenaline designed to keep the wounded on their feet. She had seen soldiers that one moment were unresponsive go to alert and hyperactive. It was strong stuff, needless to say having felt its effect herself before.

"You better be staying with me Redfield. I'm not explaining this to Claire," she told him. Jill knew she was saying it more to hide her nerves than any expectation Chris could hear her.

"Afraid I'd leave you with all the paper work?" responded a weak voice.

He was coming around. _Good. _ She couldn't help but smile at him. His eyes were now open but glazed. He looked like any second he could pass out again. Jill would have to make sure he stayed awake just in case.

"Thank you," she said. She tried to express in those two little words how scared she was for him, tried to relay the gut-wrenching terror she felt when she saw Wesker standing over him readying the killing blow. She tried to put in how thankful she was for what he had done and why he had to stay around even if she wasn't ready to admit even to herself her reasons. Predictably she failed.

"Didn't want to owe you one," came his own response as he moved his head to make eye contact.

His words forced the smile back onto her face. It was something of an old joke between them that stretched back to their time as partners in Raccoon City, before their lives had exploded violently in the Arklay Mountains that horrible July all those years ago. They had been working a kidnapping case and had found the perp's hideout. Jill had quickly found the place booby-trapped and had to disarm a pressure plated mine Chris had inadvertently stepped on. After they had made the arrest the perp had managed somehow to pick his cuffs and pulled Jill's weapon from her holster. Jill had hardly any time to figure out what was going on, but when she had she knew she was as good as dead. Chris though drew his Beretta with a speed Jill didn't know he possessed and ended the matter before it went anywhere else. When she tried to thank him those words were all he said. Ever since those words were spoken more often then not whenever they had returned a favor by saving one another.

"Chris," her voice was soft but firm as see met his eyes. "Chris, I need you to stay awake for me so I can go outside and try to get reception and call for an Evac. Can you do that for me?"

He seemed to hesitate a second before nodding. When she didn't move he finally said. "I'll be fine Jill. Just arm yourself, we don't know if Spencer has any other surprises for guests."

Sound advice, besides Chris would need more medical attention that Jill's basic first aid training could offer so she had to go. Jill crossed the room and collected her Beretta and knife she had lost in the quick skirmish versus Wesker. She reloaded both her Beretta and Chris' before returning it to him and heading out of the library. Moving as fast as she comfortably could she crossed the estate and exited into the pouring rain. She spent a minute fiddling with dials on the radio attached to her belt and harness.

"Attention this BSAA agent Jill Valentine, requesting emergency evac. I have an agent down and positive ids on terrorists Ozwell Spencer and Albert Wesker, over."

There was a long pause before her radio answered.

"Valentine, did I hear you right?" a thick eastern European accent answered her.

Jill sighed with relief. "You did. I need a medic up here ASAP, plus whatever big guns you got to sweep the area for Wesker."

"Copy, send your coordinates."

Jill relayed the information and was felt her anxiety begin to lessen when the voice told her that was less than a 20 minute helicopter flight from a small BSAA outpost in the area. Signing off, she ran out of the storm and back into the estate towards her partner.

----

_Redfield, boy are you going to owe me after this._ Jill felt her thoughts were an understatement.

They had been evacuated by the local BSAA forces. Two helicopters had arrived on the mountain. In each, a full of a squad armed to the teeth. The resident head honcho a somewhat thick Italian man by the name of Rizzo. Slightly balding and with a bushy brown mustache, Captain Rizzo had been helpful enough initially. His men had secured the estate and a medic immediately had both Chris and Spencer's corpse moved to a helicopter to return to a medical facility. When she described the details of the fight with Wesker and how he had fallen down to the chasm below he seemed to lose all need for expediency. Rizzo seemed to think no one could have survived that fall and collecting another corpse wasn't necessary. Chris had nearly leaped out of the helicopter when he had heard that. Jill had to intervene and explain the Wesker was no normal BOW and until they had a body Wesker should be considered alive.

_Actually I should have rephrased that, we saw a body in the Arklay mansion._

Reluctantly Rizzo had agreed and sent his teams to comb the floor for any sign of the former S.T.A.R.S captain. He had then accompanied the two BSAA agents back to the local compound. Jill had gotten off easier than she expected with only a cracked rib. Considering the force Wesker had used against her she knew she was lucky. Jill had just finished being treated by the physician, giving the mandatory BSAA bloodwork to confirm no infectous agents when Rizzo had come in wanting the whole story. Apparently he had checked the BSAA database and learned they weren't here in an official BSAA capacity. When she had told him of the tip they had received the man had grown furious it had not been reported and he had not been alerted to the fact that a most wanted bioterriorist was living in his backyard. The man's voice had not been at a bearable decibel since. First he had threatened to arrest her, then later have her and Chris thrown out of the BSAA. In fact he had put in a call to General James Howard, the BSAA's senior officer just to that effect.

So now Jill was standing in the compound's Comm Ops waiting to see if Howard would pick up and how he would react. The rest of the personal of the Communication Operations Center had their faces buried into whatever they were doing as if they knew it would be in their best interests to appear busy.

_Rizzo must have quite the temper._

Finally Howard's face came onto the video feed. The man looked as though he had just woken up and was sporting a heavy frown. _Ah the fun of different time zones. _General Howard was an old soldier. In his late 50's he had risen through the ranks of the U.S. Army before he had decided to transfer into what would become the BSAA. He had salt and pepper hair and more age lines than a man his age should have. It was a great deal of effort to get the large number of international branches of the BSAA to work smoothly. Like Jill and Chris he was one of the original founders, and like many of those in the North American Branch he joined because of Raccoon City. Howard's wife and son had been lost when Raccoon City fell, and since that day confessed he would never have a decent nights sleep until those responsible were brought to justice. Jill understood that perfectly.

Howard wasted no time with formalities, "Captain Rizzo tells me you've had an interesting night Jill."

Jill quickly realized Howard was not going quite as harsh in this as she had feared. "That's right General."

"And the intel you received," he responded.

"Was from a reliable source and obviously correct given what we found," she said evenly.

Rizzo took that as his cue to step in. "General, why was I not informed of this? I swore to protect my people from bioterrorism but when one of the most dangerous men in the world is right next door I was denied the information solely on the basis of Agents Valentine and Redfield's discretion. How can I be expected to do my job under these circumstances." The last bit obviously wasn't a question.

Jill realized she need to take charge of the conversation if she wanted to minimize the consequences of her and Chris' decision. "General, no disrespect was intended to any branch of the agency, but Agent Redfield and I have spoken to you before on the matter of potential leaks. The information was too volatile to risk letting anyone know about it. Spencer has managed more than once to slip through our fingers. When Agent Redfield and I received the intelligence we decided we had to take the risk and act under the radar."

Howard sighed, "Well it seems to have paid off somewhat. Spencer is confirmed DOA and Wesker?"

"That was luck we ran into him at all. We had no intel on his whereabouts," Jill confirmed

"Wesker is being searched for by my men as we speak General," Rizzo didn't hesitate to add.

"And how is Chris?"

Jill couldn't help the ghost of a smile that formed on her lips, "He's in pretty good spirits considering he lost a lot of blood. Though the morphine and stabbing Wesker might have something to do with it."

The General almost appeared to lose his frown for a moment and the ends of his mouth moved slightly upwards.

Suddenly a young man jumped from his seat. "Captain, Lieutenant Gallo reports his squad just engaged Wesker."

Rizzo practically flashed over to the man's station. "And?"

The younger man's face seemed to get more animated, "He is claiming the American's story fleshes out. Gallo and his men found the target trying to move out of the chasm. Gallo said Wesker tried to engage them but seemed wounded. Gallo's men laid down suppressing fire and Sergeant Bianchi repeatedly hit him with his grenade launcher and the target's skin started to bubble and decompose itself completely. He's reporting a confirmed kill."

Jill's eyes could not have gotten any wider.

_After all this time could it really be over?_

Howard's face seemed to lose all the weight that had been in it only moments before and geniuine grin appeared. "Captain Rizzo. Agent Valentine. It appears you both just became part of the most successful day in the BSAA's history."

Next: Chapter 3 -Return to the US of A.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic.

Jill

The ding of the fasten seat belt sign turning on was what awoke Jill Valentine. Groaning with displeasure she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. An ugly gray seat with a tray table greeted her eyes. She shook her head trying to cast off the last bits of sleep that told her mind to close her eyes again and return to her previous comfortable position. The right side of face was a little damp and as she ran her hand across it to remove the wetness, she felt how sticky it was and immediately felt embarrassed.

_Perfect, I probably spent the last hour drooling all over myself. _

Jill chose the blame the pain-killers the doctor had given her for her cracked rib and multiple bruises she sustained in the fight back in Europe. They certainly had put her out like a light and since she didn't normally drool, she decided that the excuse of being drugged would have to protect her ego. She turned to her right and released an even bigger groan. Next to her Chris was just about as gone as she had been. He was leaning against the aircraft's window to act as pillow, and noticeably not drooling on it. That was not the reason for her groan however. The damp spot on his shoulder was.

_There went my defense now. He's definitely is on the stronger meds._

A static infused voice suddenly entered the cabin from the overhead speakers, "This is the Captain. We are now starting our descent please be sure you have your seat belts fastened."

Chris jerked awake from the sound. His eyes started moving everywhere and his hand went down to the side of his leg where his sidearm was usually holstered. Jill knew then that his dreams had not been as restful as hers. He had been tense ever since the confrontation with Wesker back at the Spencer Estate. Even the news of Wesker's death hadn't relaxed him like she thought it would. With both Spencer and Wesker gone she personally felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her. Chris had reacted nearly the complete opposite. At first when she had told him he had been completely quiet. She hadn't been sure if he was still too drugged to understand her and had left it at that, figuring she would tell him again when he was less medicated. Once the doctor had allowed him to leave the medical wing though, he proceeded to question each and every member of the squad that had engaged Wesker and demanded all the details. Next he had "borrowed" a BSAA Jeep and headed down the site where the battle had occurred. Rizzo's men took it as a personal affront and contacted Rizzo himself asking to know what was going on. When Rizzo had alerted Jill to what was going on she had to smooth things over by explaining Chris and Wesker's enmity was long standing and he just wanted to sure.

Jill had taken another jeep down to the site to find Chris examining the signs of the fight. She had waited patiently for him to finish. When she could tell he had she then approached him and ask what he was looking for.

"Something. Anything," he said in a low voice.

"And? Do you believe it?" she had asked him.

"I don't know. I want to but I've always had this feeling that Wesker and I wouldn't be done until there wasn't much left of either of us. So I'm not sure if I really can," he confessed.

The admission hadn't been startling given how dedicated Chris had proven himself to be in the fight against Umbrella. For a time when she finally managed to meet up with him after the fall of Raccoon City, she had been disturbed by how obsessed he acted. Chris was determined to see all traces of Umbrella wiped from the face of the Earth. He had been tearing himself in a dozen different directions to protect his sister, avoid Umbrella assassins, follow every BOW lead, hunt down Wesker, and anything to take the fight to those who caused this mess. Chris looked like a man who knew his work would kill him and had decided to take down as many responsible as he could before the end. When she arrived though, she remembered how palpable his relief had been that she escaped Raccoon City. Claire gave Jill credit for managing to get him to stop pushing himself over the edge, claiming with some annoyance that her brother would listen to Jill even if Claire had been telling him the exact same thing. So the admission may not be shocking but she still didn't like hearing it.

"You know there might be something more out there for you than just this," she finally had replied.

Chris only glanced over to where the sun was starting to set, "Yeah, maybe." He gave her a little smile. It was one she rarely saw, one she knew she was one of the few people to witness it.

"Come on partner, lets go home," she said as she offered her arm. He took it but before he did Chris looked her dead in the eyes.

"I'm just glad he didn't take you from me," there was something in his tone she couldn't identify.

Her mind's eye seem to conjure the image of Wesker standing over Chris, hand shaped like a knife, ready to deal death. She shivered involuntarily. "I know what you mean."

"You slept well I assume," Chris words brought her mind back to the present.

He nodded indicating the slowly drying spot on his shoulder.

"It was the medication," the line was too quickly delivered and too prepared. Chris gave her a lopsided grin that said he knew her too well for that excuse to fly.

Annoyed she kept talking, "Come on! Between the medication, the long flight, the horrible in flight movie, and you getting the window seat you're lucky its not a lake."

Chris' laughter made her checks redden, then she too joined in the laughter. _It's good to be home._

------

Jill

The weather was cold as she and Chris walked through the airport parking lot headed towards Chris' jeep. They had picked up their baggage and then grabbed their checked weapons from security. The plane had arrived on the East Coast slightly after midnight and Jill couldn't wait to get home and take a warm shower. Predictably and in spite of her arguments, Chris was carrying the majority of the baggage.

_Just because he had all those muscles now doesn't mean that when he's hurt he still has to lug everything. If I didn't know better I think he gets a kick from being able to curl more than I weight. _

As they reached the jeep, she helped him load all the luggage into the back and then they sped off towards Jill's apartment. They normally carpooled when they had to fly. It made no sense to pay two parking fees after all. Jill took a second to stretch and followed it with a yawn. Long flights in a crowded cabin were not the most relaxing thing she could think of.

"Didn't get enough on the flight?" Chris asked her as he paid the parking attendant.

"Not by half." A good long shower followed by a nice sleep in her own bed was a luxury she would never tire of.

"Just be sure your pillows are extra-absorbent," he said as if reading her thoughts.

"You actually think you're funny? It's cute Redfield. It really is," she shot back.

Chris smirked at her, then held a hand up indicating not to hit him.

_You're lucky you are still injured, partner._

Jill gave him a glare that was designed to make him nervous but gave up, when a smile broke out on her face. Fortunately for her it was dark out and he was on the freeway now so he wasn't paying attention.

_It's good to be able to banter with him like old times, before Umbrella changed everything. _

Jill found herself studying his features. He looked a lot different now from when they had first met. The last traces of boyish characteristics had left his face years ago but the weight of those years still hadn't left age lines as he still had youth. Gone was the spikey hair that had been popular in the late nineties. Instead his brown hair laid mostly flat on his head as though all he did in the morning was run a hand through it and left his hair to its own devices. Somehow it actually managed to look good the majority of the time. The biggest change was not doubt his build. Over the last few years he had spent more and more time in the gym. While Chris even in his youth had been a strong man, his increased weight training had made him look extremely cut with all the muscle he had added. At first she thought she wouldn't like the look but then she had been surprised at how flattering it was on him.

_He's still handsome._

Jill forced herself to snap out of her train of thought. She glanced over at Chris to see he was still focused on driving then let herself relax. Jill frowned though when her eyes trailed down to Chris right forearm. It had been bandaged up pretty well by the doctor, but she knew the dressings would have to be changed soon. That feeling of fear found her way back into her stomach, every time she saw it. Chris and her had been in plenty of life or death situations before and she wasn't sure why this one bothered her so much. Jill could only guess it was because she had been sure that Wesker was going to kill him before she managed to tackle the blond man. She remembered begging any divinity that was listening to let her run faster so she could stop him, she didn't care if she would die. That fear had been so strong it hadn't quite left her yet.

Chris was her partner. Back when they had first been assigned to one another with S.T.A.R.S., Jill had been nervous. During her training with Delta Force she had found two types of male partners; ones that tried to get in your pants and ones that thought as a woman you had no place in a man's job. So she had been hesitant with Chris. To her surprise he acted like none of the others. Chris listened to her input, he didn't act the part of the chauvinist letting her carry her own weight, and he never once tried to be more than partners. If he acted protective it was because he cared not because he thought you were unable to protect yourself.

_It's because he had to raise Claire, he made sure she was a tough girl so he knew girls can be an equal partner._

It had taken no time before Jill and Chris had become the leading partnership in the Raccoon City Police Department. He was in many respects a perfect partner and the years chasing BOWs had honed that partnership into a polished weapon. But it wasn't the fact that Chris knew how she could best aid their mission and trusted her with his back that mattered the most to her. Nor was it when Chris often acted like his injuries were not as bad as they really were just so she would use the rest of the medical supplies, though that touched her as well. It was the fact somewhere down the line Chris had become her best friend.

Wesker had made her fear that she would lose the man who held her as she cried when she learned her father had passed. The man who stood at her side during the funeral holding her hand, silently letting her know someone was there for her. She was afraid for the person who always let her fall asleep on his shoulder after a long day or would surprise her sometimes by showing up at her place with Chinese food and a movie when she felt alone.

Suddenly she shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

_You need to get out of your own head Jill and stop thinking like this, it's not a good idea._

"You alright?" Chris asked, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to send a glance her way. He must have noticed the movement.

"Yeah I'm fine, my mind just seems to be preoccupied of late," she sighed.

Chris again took his eyes off the road, he looked at her with concern plain on his face. Jill tried to reassure him with a smile. Finally she decided to throw him off the scent.

"I'm thinking of cutting my hair short again," she made up.

"I thought you got tired of maintaining it," he answered.

"Nice job, you've talked me out of it partner."

"Yeah sorry I don't believe it. Its never that easy," he said as the lopsided grin of his made a return.

"You're one to talk."

They maintained a comfortable silence until the jeep at last pulled up outside her apartment complex.

------

Jill sighed in disgust as she examined the state of her apartment. She had left in a hurry, throwing the necessary supplies together once Chris had phoned her with the information he had received on Spencer so they could set out on the closest flight. Dirty dishes filled her sink, and various drawers were open all along the shelves from where she took what she thought she would need. Still she supposed it wasn't that bad. Jill just liked her space tidy.

Chris entered through the front door behind her, carrying her bags, and she indicated to leave them near the entrance. Jill could unpack later.

"Well I guess that's it for now," Chris filled the silence.

"Yeah two whole weeks off paid. I'm surprised the BSAA was that generous. Howard must have had a drink or two before he told us that. I'm not sure I even know what to do with that much time off," she joked.

Chris gave her a bit of a grin, "Don't worry I'm sure within a few days they will find some need for us."

"Always the optimist Chris, you know exactly how to reassure me," she lightly mocked.

"Well if you don't need anything else I'll go and leave you to catch up on some shut eye." He turned to leave.

"Chris, wait."

He turned back to her, "yeah?"

"You need to change your dressings," she told him.

He nodded then started to turn once more to the door, "Thanks partner, I won't forget."

Jill though was already in her medicine cabinet pulling out what she needed. "Not so fast soldier, roll up your sleeves."

"Its okay Jill I ca....," he let the rest of the words die when he saw her sharp look.

Jill took a rubber band and put her brown hair in a quick pony tail to keep it out of the way. She then pulled him over to the light in the kitchen and started removing his bandages. The wounds seemed to be healing ok. The stitches were fine but still the sight of the injury started to make that uneasy feeling return to the pit of her stomach. Jill made herself focus on her task and began to re-bandage him up, moving closer to him to make sure she covered all the way up to the end of injury. As she continued her work a loose strand of hair kept falling in her face, which she had to keep blowing out of her eyes. Eventually Chris noticed and reached out softly tucking the strand behind her ear. Jill felt her ear tingle from his touch.

Jill felt her eyes shoot up to his own. They were blue like hers, but his were a dark shade. Jill suddenly became aware her heart was racing as her gaze finally met and held his. There faces were rather close since she had almost finished wrapping the top part of his forearm. Chris must have noticed the position they were in and began to look slightly awkward.

_What in hell are you doing Valentine! Get yourself together! This is Chris, don't make things complicated._

Jill moved her vision back down what she was doing and finished the redressing of his arm. "Good as new," she was proud her voice sounded normal.

"Thanks, Jill." Chris rolled his sleeve back down. "Talk to you tomorrow?" he asked.

Jill nodded and gave a somewhat forced smile. She followed him to the door, watching to see if he was still feeling any awkwardness in the situation. Chris, though, was known back in the BSAA office for his poker face and she received nothing for her efforts. It would be fine though, nothing happened. Nothing had changed.

Chris stepped outside, briefly turned back to her. "Good night Jill," his voice was soft and even no doubt out of respect for her sleeping neighbors. The moon was out allowing her to see him clearly.

Suddenly, Jill snaked her hand around the back of his neck and propped herself up on the tips of her toes. The kiss shocked her as much as it did him. At first they just stood there with their lips lightly touching, then it began to take on a tenderness that made her wonder. She guessed it mush have gone on for a minute before they pulled away. She could only stare at him. Chris for his part looking as surprised as she felt.

"I'm glad your safe," was all she managed to come up with.

Chris put his poker face back on. "I'm glad your safe too, partner," he said with softness that this time she was sure wasn't meant for her neighbors.

Jill gave him a nervous smile the bade him goodnight. As she closed the door, Jill sank to the floor her head in her hands.

_What did I just do?_


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic.

Chris

Chris Redfield was beyond annoyed. He was laying on his bed. The sunlight was peaking through his blinds, cascading into the room. He reached out and grabbed his alarm clock. The big bright red numbers mocked him with an answer of 8:11. Chris had been trying to go back to sleep for an hour. He had possessed grand hopes that he would get to sleep in to say 10 o'clock or some other late hour since he could not remember the last time he actually had sometime off, let alone the opportunity to sleep in. The conditioning of a life filled with police work and military training apparently was not that easily cast aside.

_Figures. Never a moments rest for the weary._

Tired of fighting the inevitable, he threw off his covers and headed to the bathroom to wash his face and get rid of the taste of morning breath. As he entered the bathroom he stopped to take a look at himself in the mirror. Large bags had taken up residence under his eyes. Chris hadn't managed to fall asleep until some time early in the morning after he got home last night. There had been a lot of thoughts running through his head last night and despite his best attempts to the contrary his mind just would not shut up.

As Chris brushed his teeth, he though about what to do with his time off. Breakfast was a must, the gym was obvious. He'd have to call Claire and let her know he was back stateside, but besides that he really had no idea that to do with two whole weeks off. It was slightly annoying and the reality of it was staring him in his face. Chris' work was his life, he lived and breathed it. Now confronted with time apart from it, he had a hard time figuring out what to do. Oh sure he'd see his sister and some friends but he didn't have much in the way of hobbies these days.

_Maybe I should see if I can rent a jet and get some flight time in. Its been too long since I've been up._

As he was spitting out his toothpaste, Chris heard the door to his apartment open.

_Who the ........ _

Chris walked out into the living room and saw a tail of red hair sticking above a pair of grocery bags that obscured his guest's face. Chris smiled in spite of himself. Silently he moved back to his bed and lay down, closing his eyes he started to feign sleep. Loud banging noises were heard from his kitchen and more than once he caught the sound of his refrigerator opening and closing. After a minute though the sounds stopped but Chris refused to move.

"You are the worst faker, Christopher Redfield," a voice filled the room.

Chris didn't move, only kept his breathing even despite the fact his mouth wanted to crack a grin.

"OK then, I guess I have no choice."

Chris heard the sound of running then a light body slammed down onto him. With one hand Claire started to try and tickle him while the other grabbed a pillow and started to hit him with it. The sounds of sibling laughter filled the air as the two swatted at each other with his pillows. Claire, at one point, tried to grab his legs and lift him off the ground so he would fall back on the bed.

"This was so much easier when you weren't so damned big!" she complained.

Chris just did his best to punctuate his laughter in order to rub it in.

Tired from the roughhousing, Claire gave up and sat down on his bed but her eyes were still full of laughter. It had been nearly a month since they had last seen one another but Claire still looked the same. She had her red hair up in a small pony tail near the back of her head as she always did and was comfortably wearing a white jean jacket over a red shirt with blue jeans. Chris was surprised to see her, even though they always tried to meet up after he returned from an assignment, he hadn't called her yet to let her know he was back. Regardless of why she was here it was good to see her. His grumpiness started to evaporate.

"What are you doing here so early?" he asked.

"What? Can't a girl fix her big brother breakfast," she teased.

Chris grinned at her and pulling her up, leading them over to the kitchen. Together they sorted the groceries. She had bought a lot, enough for pancakes, bacon, eggs, and sausage. Claire had a feast planned, Chris could tell. They flowed in conversation easily despite their time apart. He asked after her work, and she talked about how thankfully slow work had been lately. Claire had gone the other direction of Chris, when it came to dealing with the horrors of their past. While Chris had spent all his time with Anti-Umbrella organizations and then later the BSAA to fight BOW outbreaks, Claire had joined TerraSave which helped the victims affected by such outbreaks. Quietly Chris had always been thankful that Claire had decided being a fighter wasn't for her and lowered the risks she took. Besides helping people was something that came naturally to Claire, he had always though she had strong motherly nature in her. It came from making sure he looked after himself. When he had been so busy trying to provide for her future after their folks died when they were still both teenagers. Chris had been forced to grow up fast in the wake of his parent's death and take responsibility for himself and Claire. Though he had been struggling to find them income so they would be alright and trying to grasp with the fact he had to raise his sister, Claire started to make it her mission to get him to understand he needed to look out for himself too. The closeness they shared would be there until they died, they had always promised themselves.

"So did Mrs. Caweson call you to let you know I was back?" Chris asked her as he put the first round of pancakes on. Mrs. Caweson was Chris' landlord who he suspected Claire had persuaded to call her every time he came back after being gone for a while.

_Claire would put a tracking device on me if she could._

"No, Jill called me this morning and let me know you were back." She answered him.

"Jill?"

"Yeah and she told me everything," his sister told him as she was stirring the eggs.

_Somehow I doubt that._ Claire, luckily wasn't privy to his thoughts.

Claire turned towards him then and smacked him on the shoulder.

"Hey, what was that?" he said with indignation.

"That was for not telling me you nailed both Spencer and Wesker! You've been going after them for over eight years and you don't call! Come on you know I wouldn't care about being woken up to that news. Were you also planning to neglect to mention that your arm had a date with half-a-dozen pieces of glass?" she was acting as if she was fuming but Chris could tell while she was angry, the news about Wesker and Spencer still had her beaming a bit.

"Jeez Claire, I was planning on calling you after I showered this morning. Relax a little and maybe congratulate your brother," he was trying to deflect some of her attitude.

"What do you think the breakfast is for? Dork," she responded out of the side of her mouth.

"Butt-head, " that comment earned him both another smack and a smile.

"Alright lets see that arm, Chris. Jill said I'd have to change the bandages."

He groaned, exactly what he needed: more babying. He had as much first aid training as Jill and Claire. When he stated as much the only thing he got was a stare that told him 'I don't trust you to do it yourself.'

_First Jill, now Claire. Mothers must teach their daughters that look early._

Chris let his sister fuss over him for a while and change his dressings, before finally sitting down to breakfast. It was good and allowed him and sister to catch up. They must have spent an hour just talking. It was nice and relaxing to just sit with his sister and spend some time together. It felt like better times. _Maybe I will actually get to have some fun with this little vacation. _After they finished though his cell-phone started ringing as if to mock him even more than his alarm clock. Chris sighed and picked up.

"Hello"

"Chris, its Doug." Doug Johns was one of Chris' colleagues in the North American BSAA branch.

"Doug, whats the BSAA doing calling me on my time off?" Chris tried to take a little bit of the ire out his voice, but he knew what was coming.

"General Howard needs you to come in. Be here by noon." Doug told him.

"Fine." Chris remembered Jill sarcastically calling him an optimist for commenting they'd probably only get part of their two weeks as actual time off. Apparently he WAS an optimist.

_Scratch the plan to get some hours in a cockpit._

"Trouble?" Claire questioned him after he hung up.

"Work. No rest for the weary," he said, echoing his earlier thoughts.

Claire glanced at the clock. "Well I better go so my hero big brother can get ready."

------

Chris usually found the drive into work peaceful. Today was different however, his mind was too busy to allow him to relax and enjoy the drive. He wondered if Howard had another assignment or if he just planned on chewing his and Jill's asses out for not reporting the Spencer lead. Whatever it was he figured it couldn't be actual field work. Neither Jill nor he were healed enough for such an assignment. Even if they wanted to Rebecca Chambers, the former S.T.A.R.S medic who served the BSAA as a Chief Physician and Viral Research Analyst, would see to it they were grounded. That left boring assignment or getting yelled at, so his mind wasn't relaxing.

_And of course there's Jill......_

Chris really did not know what to make of his partner's actions last night. He and Jill had always been close. After the better part of a decade working along side one another it was hard not to be. Even despite their closeness they had always maintained boundaries. They were partners and they were friends. Sure they had flirted a time or two, but it had always been more playful bantering between friends. Certainly nothing serious.

Jill wasn't exactly his type, his history with women tended to show he had a thing for blond but superficial. Granted the last time he had been on a date he was a lot younger and had been calling Albert Wesker boss. His line of work wasn't exactly conductive to relationships. Of course that wasn't saying he didn't find Jill Valentine an attractive woman. Her nose was a little large for her face to be called gorgeous and she wasn't a girly girl, but he seldom noticed. Chris instead noticed the smile she gave him every morning they went into work or the grin in her eyes after a successful mission. Their relationship might have slight undercurrents of attraction but she was his partner and that's what mattered. So anytime they were in a situation that made either of them awkward, one of them always reinforced those boundaries. And that was why this was so damned confusing.

Chris should have noticed that Jill had been acting a bit different since the encounter with Wesker. She had been little more protective and kept a closer eye on him, but he had thought that was natural considering they had nearly died. Chris had been acting the same, he still felt his stomach tighten every time he thought how close he had been to losing her out that window. If she had fallen Chris knew that a part of him would have died with her. A large part.

The kiss had taken Chris by surprise, and in retrospect he should have pulled away. The fact he hadn't troubled him. No, instead he let himself enjoy it. Maybe it was because he had been so long without that kind of contact, or because some part of him had always wondered what kissing her would be like. Trying to figure how to handle this was driving him nuts.

_What are you worried about Chris? This is Jill, she got a little freaked out and acted on it. She's probably going to pretend like nothing happened and things will go back to normal._

That was by far and away the scenario was seemed to scream how Jill would act. Anytime Jill had something bothering her personally she tended to shut up about it and let it go away, leaving Chris to pry it out of her. Jill was like him in that respect.

Chris drove through the security checkpoint and then headed to the BSAA parking lot near headquarters. As he turned in Chris saw Jill stepping out of her car, she must have just arrived as well. Chris parked his jeep next to her and got out. It was bright outside, he was going to need to hold onto his sunglasses until they were inside.

"Hey," he said to greet his partner.

"Hey yourself," she replied. Jill was dressed in civilian clothing as he was, a navy blue long sleeve shirt with a pair of jeans. _That woman sure does have an affinity for the color blue. _ Chris was slightly surprised when he noticed she had obviously taken the time to straighten her hair so it ran down either side of her face, on top of that she had put on eyeliner. Jill typically just put her hair into a pony tail and didn't bother with make up when work was involved. On any other day Chris would have made a comment just to get a rise out of her, but today he decided it would be wiser to keep quiet. She had expected to have the day off so it probably didn't mean anything.

They walked side by side heading towards the compound's central building.

"Any idea what this is about?" Jill asked.

"As far as I can figure we are either going to spend the next hour getting reprimanded, or get sent on some tedious assignment where the only thing that will come from it is you catching up on your sleep and me having to dry another shirt," he quipped.

"Well if it is an assignment wear a cotton sweater. They are the best for shoulder pillows," she replied, refusing to rise to the bait.

"I knew you had an ulterior motive behind my Christmas gift," he faked a look of shocked disbelief.

Jill gave him a smug look.

_Yup I was right. As far as she was concerned nothing happened._

They opened the doors of the building and immediately headed down the hall to the interior courtyard where they would cross over into the command offices. Neither was prepared for what came next.

"SURPRISE!!!!!"

Gathered in the central courtyard must have been half the North American BSAA branch in front of a large hanging poster with the words "Congratulations You Got Them!" In front of the crowd Chris saw faces that didn't belong in the BSAA. First was Claire, and her large smile told him she knew about this well before she arrived at his place this morning. Probably even before she talked to Jill. Next to her was Rebecca Chambers, who was a member of the BSAA, but aside her in a red bomber jacket like he had stepped out of the past was Barry Burton. All the living S.T.A.R.S together once more.

Chris couldn't help the stupid grin that appeared on his face. He spared a glance at his partner to see she was wearing that same grin.

_A surprise indeed and a welcome one at that._

--------

Chris

For the most part Chris' earlier good mood had faded. He had been at the surprise celebration for nearly two hours, and been shuffled from one group to another. Chris hadn't even seen Jill since they entered. The crowd had pulled them over in different directions and he was pretty sure they were working the polar opposite sides of the courtyard. That wasn't what was getting on his nerves though. Instead of managing to talk to Barry, who he had not seen in about 2 years, he had been herded from crowd to crowd where he was forced to recount the fight against Wesker over and over. After about the 10th time had he started to add ridiculous lies into the story so he wouldn't be bored to tears. The last one had involved a fire breathing turtle and the one before that a gigantic parrot. Those who had been listening just looked at each other with confusion as Chris spewed his load of bull.

_They would have all read the report on it anyway. They're just asking because they don't know what else to do. The sad thing is I think one or two of them will actually think those are new BOWs._

"Looks like you need some rescuing." a man's voice came from behind it. It wasn't Barry's though.

Chris turned around a caught a familiar sight. A lean young man with blond hair parted on the left side of his head.

"Leon? What are you doing here? I didn't see you." Chris said. He was genuinely surprised to see the other man.

"I just arrived. I got wind of your report back when you were still in Europe so I called Claire a let her know what happened. When the BSAA invited her she told them to extend Barry and I invitations. I saw you and figured you probably needed some help," Leon explained.

"Believe me, I'll take it. I was beginning to wish Wesker had won." Chris wasn't sure how much of that was a joke.

The two of them moved away from the numerous people locked in conversation. Leon S. Kennedy, like Chris, was a former Raccoon City police officer. He hadn't been S.T.A.R.S and in fact his first day of work had been his last as the city destroyed itself, but he was a fighter. Leon had helped Claire get out of Raccoon City, then later helped Chris track her down after the mess. Not long ago he had watched out for her again when an infection broke out at the Harvardville Airport. Chris had been on assignment half-way around the world at the time and hadn't even learned of the situation before it had been resolved. While Leon wasn't BSAA, he did work for the US government and the two of them often compared notes as well as intel to stay on top of their game. Plus Chris felt he owed Leon big for watching out for his sister when he had been unable to.

"So since we are having this conversation it seems like my intel was right." Leon had given Chris and Jill the lead. He had refused to name his source but said the tip he had received was likely true. Leon had given the lead to Chris because it was outside his authority to take action.

"Be glad you turned it over to us, nobody could have come back if they had gone alone." Chris said. He was pretty sure he knew what Leon was thinking.

Leon just nodded. The two of them talked briefly, going over the current state of the war on bio-terrorism.

"Chris, Leon!" a loud voice boomed.

Barry Burton crushed Chris in bear hug, laughing the whole time.

"When did you get so big Redfield? Claire's been telling me you moved out of your apartment and into a gym. I'm actually starting to believe her."

"Rent's cheaper."

Chris could see Claire was smirking at him from over Barry's shoulder. "Come on Leon, let's let these two catch up." His sister's voice called out. Chris watched as Leon and his sister walked off to do some catching up of their own. _Be careful Kennedy, I don't want to have to go big brother Redfield on you. _Chris looked at his company. Barry might have a few more gray hairs but for the most part he looked exactly the same.

"How have you been Barry?" Chris asked.

They talked for a good long time and got filled in on the others lives. Barry had started his own P.I. business. Kathy and the girls were doing well and in fact the oldest was now in college. That made Chris feel old as he pictured Barry's little girls. Hell his oldest used to tell Chris she was going to marry him when they went over to Barry's during team BBQ's. It had been cute and adorable, but he had received no end of grief from both Joseph and Jill back at S.T.A.R.S Headquarters for it. Chris though found he didn't have much to tell his old friend. Barry had already talked to Claire and Jill so Chris found he only had work left to talk about. The thought, like he had experienced this morning by realizing he lacked hobbies, left him slightly sad. Unable to think of anything else Chris told him about life working as a BSAA operative.

_It was the sacrifice I had to make to get here today. The world is a better place for what I've done._

Unlike just about everyone else Barry didn't ask about Wesker. It seemed he was just happy to know the man was dead. _With good reason too._ Barry had at one point been forced to betray the S.T.A.R.S. with Wesker threatening Barry's family as incentive. So instead they spoke of old times, back when life had been much simpler running around as S.T.A.R.S.

It was then that Chris caught a glimpse of navy blue out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and finally saw Jill. She was standing across the yard, facing toward him, in the middle of conversation with Rebecca. When she saw him, she gave a smile. Chris politely returned it then turned his head back to Barry, only to find the older man giving him an exasperated look.

"Chris, you two will never change. Always dancing around one another. Hell, even in S.T.A.R.S. I don't think either of you went a day without trying to look at each other when the other wasn't noticing. Didn't anyone ever tell you that dancing is more fun when you're paired up?" Chris knew he'd have to put an end to this now or be forced to be lectured for the rest of the afternoon. Barry was ever the father figure of S.T.A.R.S.

"You know how it is Barry. There are just some lines you don't cross with your partner. Keep everything professional." Chris' voice was low so no one would overhear. It was the closest he had ever come to admitting that he _might_ have ever entertained the thought of Jill Valentine being more than his friend and partner.

"Chris, this is your business so I'm not going to butt in, but let me just give you this advice. Don't be the guy that sacrifices everything for work, leaving his personal life is empty until one day wakes up and realizes he's too damn old to do anything about it."

Chris Redfield had no response.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic.

Jill

Jill's feet were beginning to ache. She had been at this surprise gathering for over two hours now and, at last, it was finally starting to wind down. As soon as she arrived, Jill had been bombarded with questions about the demise of Spencer and Wesker. No matter how many times she had told the story it seemed someone else would appear and want to know the details. It was tiring, both emotionally and physically. As glad as she was to think about Wesker's fall, it also reminded her of the helplessness she felt when she had been just hanging out of the window with only Chris' sheer stubbornness keeping her from death. Not to mention the terror she felt when she saw Chris pale as a corpse from loss of blood.

On the bright side though she had gotten the opportunity to catch up with people she seldom saw, namely Barry Burton. Jill was planning on making sure she got a picture with Rebecca, Barry, Chris, and herself, before they all parted again. The last of the S.T.A.R.S. together once more.

_I'll need to make sure I keep an eye out for Claire. _ _I saw she had a camera on her. _ _No doubt to torment her brother._

Jill excused herself from the small group of people she had been conversing with and started to move towards the outskirts of the courtyard to be able to catch a few moments to herself. No sooner than she had she found she was being trailed. She turned around to see who it was that was following her, with some minor annoyance.

_Can't I get a second to just sit and relax._

Luckily it wasn't anyone she would have minded. Rebecca Chambers strode across the courtyard after her. She must have come straight from the nearby hospital, where she worked part time when she wasn't on the BSAA's clock, as she was still in scrubs. Rebecca looked a great deal different from the eighteen year old genius that had joined S.T.A.R.S. all those years ago. Like Jill she had allowed her brown hair to grow out slightly past her shoulders. She had long ago lost that timid persona and instead was a woman who she expected to take her seriously despite the fact she was no older than 26. The bags under her eyes from long hours between the BSAA's medical center and the local hospital she had come from told the world she was capable of a lot more than your average 26 year old. Jill had seen Rebecca when she had first arrived but hadn't yet had a moment to speak with her.

Jill gave her a welcoming smile. "Rebecca, I'm surprised you're still here. No medical emergencies today?"

"I told them not to bother me and my pager would be off," the other woman responded with a slight sigh.

"Well what brings you my way?" Jill asked pretending to be innocent.

"Well first I wanted to say thank you for what you did out there. I know I'm not the only one who's going to be cracking open a bottle of wine to the news of Spencer and Wesker gone." Rebecca said.

Jill grinned a little.

"Second I wanted to know how you are feeling? I got a copy of the physician's report on your injuries." Rebecca's eyes seemed to narrow as though expecting Jill to lie.

_That's the Rebecca I know. Always making sure I'm in perfect health._

Rebecca had taken it on as her personal mission to keep Jill and Chris under her eye and make sure they were well healed. Rebecca knew from all their time working together in Anti-Umbrella cells that Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield, especially, would lie through their teeth on their health rather than get left behind on an important mission. More than once she had them pulled from operations because she didn't want them going out in anything less than 90% healed. Try as they might neither Chris nor Jill had managed to get her to change her mind when she had made it.

_Nope definitely not the little girl I first met in S.T.A.R.S._

"I'm feeling fine. A little sore still and bruised pretty good, but I've had worse." she eventually admitted.

"No shortness of breathe or sharp pains? How does this feel?" Rebecca said, putting her fingers on Jill's ribs and applied some pressure.

"Sore like I said. I had sharp pains originally but I seem ok now." Jill figured it would be easier to give Rebecca what she wanted than try and fight it.

"Good. No strenuous activity for the next few days ok?" Jill just nodded.

"Have you seen Chris? I'm going to have to give him the same treatment and tell him he's going to have to take a break from the gym. He doesn't need to risk popping his stitches," Rebecca said as her eyes started scanning the crowd.

Jill just laughed. "Good luck with that." Unless you were willing sit on him, Chris would find a way to gym.

Rebecca shot her a look. "I need you to back me up on this. I already talked with Claire, but you spend more time with him so make sure he listens." Rebecca was in full doctor mode and Jill knew she wouldn't take it easy until she received compliance from her patients, whether old friends or not.

Jill gave her friend an appeasing smile. "Don't worry Rebecca, I'm sure Chris Redfield is smart enough to know that pissing off three women at once is not in his interests."

Finally Rebecca cracked a bit of a smile and Jill saw some of the tension leave her friend's shoulders. It was touching, really, how far Rebecca went out of her way to be sure her and Chris took care of themselves. Rebecca had over the years become something of a personal doctor to the two BSAA agents and Jill couldn't have imagined anyone better for the job. Rebecca had been at the Arklay mansion and had joined the Anti-Umbrella movement after the fall of Raccoon City. She understood what drove them, and wanted to help in her own way, but she also wanted to make sure they were at their best when her and Chris set out on an assignment. Jill had trusted Rebecca far more than she had with many others.

_Speaking of which...._

"Rebecca, have you gotten a chance to take a look at the last batch of my blood work?" Jill kept her question at nearly a whisper. This was something she could only talk to Rebecca about.

The other woman's eyes stopped examining the crowd when she heard Jill's question. Rebecca fixed Jill with a curious stare before answering.

"Yeah I have. There were no abnormalities," Rebecca kept her voice quiet as Jill had.

"Are you sure?" Jill had to ask.

"Yes, why? Have you experienced any symptoms?" Rebecca was now giving Jill her full attention. Open concern clearly blanketed her face.

"No, Its just been on my mind lately," Jill could only answer. She could tell by Rebecca's face the younger woman wanted more of an explanation.

'It' was something that Jill had only spoken to Rebecca on, and only because she was a close friend as well as Jill's personal doctor. Years before when she had been trying to escape Raccoon City's destruction, Jill had been infected with a form of the T-Virus by one of Umbrella's worst creations, Nemesis. Jill felt her spine shudder at the thought of the monster that had hounded her every step.

_Even after all this time it still haunts my dreams._

Thankfully a man named Carlos Olivera, whom she had been traveling with, had found a cure before she had become a monster herself. The cure had apparently worked and removed the traces of the virus from her blood. It had taken several years before all the traces had been removed and during that time she had experienced occasional bouts where the early symptoms of the T-Virus would manifest. Dizziness, naseua, and becoming suddenly tired were what she had most often had to deal with. After a few years though the symptoms stopped and Rebecca hadn't been able to find any traces since. Lucky for her it had happened before she joined the BSAA, which required regular blood work for all its members, and because of that no one in the whole knew but Rebecca.

_Not even Chris._

'It' was one of the few secrets Jill had ever kept from her partner. She had thought of telling him more than once but had never truly gotten the nerve for it. When she had first found him after the fall of Raccoon it had been a little too raw for her to speak of. Plus Chris had more than enough on his plate trying to organize a resistance against Umbrella so she had chosen to keep her silence.

_He probably would have just blamed himself for not being there. Neither of us needed that._

If Jill had been totally honest with herself she would admit she had never told him because she feared he would treat her differently.

_I just wanted to be Jill, not Jill the T-Virus infected partner. Be careful everyone she's fragile!_

"Well?" Rebecca's question drew Jill back from her dark thoughts.

This time it was Jill's turn to sigh. Jill's reasons for asking were almost too personal for her to talk about. She didn't want to think about it anymore than she had to, but she needed Rebecca to assure her.

"I've just been thinking a lot. With Wesker and Spencer gone, I feel like the ghosts of Raccoon City and all the S.T.A.R.S. have been avenged, that now I could start thinking about parts of my life I've ignored for years. If I want to date or have a family, I need to know that I can't _infect_ anyone." Jill said the word infect with enough venom to kill an elephant. There she had said it. She looked to Rebecca's eyes trying to hide just how scared she was to even be talking about a future she had once been convinced she could never have.

In her friend's eyes all she found was understanding, "Jill, we've been over this more than once. I can't find any traces of the virus. Whatever you were given appears to have fought it off and destroyed it. You can live your life however you choose." Rebecca's voice was soft and comforting.

_She's been working on her bedside manner._

Jill just nodded, trying to take the words to heart. It was hard, after years of thinking that kind of life would be forever denied to her, Jill had conditioned herself to not think of it so she wouldn't have to deal with the ache those thoughts caused.

As she stood there thinking, she felt as though she was being watched. Jill turned her head slightly and saw her partner looking at her from across the room. He was standing with Barry, obviously in the middle of conversation. It was first she had seen of him since they had arrived to the gathering. She gave him a smile, which he returned before returning back to his conversation.

_Why did I even ask? Its not like I even have any prospects for that kind of life anyway. I finally got the nerve to act on something with the one guy I can picture myself with and its business as normal between us._

Jill turned her head back to the younger woman. "Looks like I've spotted your elusive quarry, we should get over there before he runs," she said with a nod of her head to indicate Chris. She made sure none of the emotions her thoughts created found their way into her voice.

Rebecca upon spotting the man immediately took off and Jill followed, although more slowly.

_You can live your life however you choose. _

Rebecca's words were easier said than done.

--------------

As Rebecca started to deliver her instructions to Chris, Jill walked up to stand next to Barry. Flashing a friendly smile, she decided to pry out some information from her old colleague.

"So Barry, Chris looked pretty serious there. What were you to talking about?" Jill didn't even bother acting innocent this time. She could tell by the sudden tension in both Chris' and Barry's shoulders when she had approached that it was something to do with her. She was fairly confident Chris wouldn't have told Barry what had occurred between the two of them last night. Chris always played his hand so close to his chest that Jill often thought even he didn't know what cards he was playing with.

_Besides Barry wouldn't be tense about something I already knew about._

The older man just frowned and told her quietly enough for her ears alone, "I was trying to talk your partner into taking it easy for a while and not work himself to death. To go see the sights and smell the flowers."

"Did it work?" _Why I am even asking?_

"What do you think," Barry replied.

"Thought not," Jill said matter-of-factly.

Chris had numerous good qualities. Her partner was kind, caring, and selfless which part of the reasons why Jill had agreed to follow him for of these long years. To his credit, Chris had always been there for her but the man was incredibly oblivious to even the idea of life outside of work.

"I'm not that bad am I?" a familiar voice said softly in her ear.

Jill jumped and spun around to see Chris Redfield all smiles at her reaction. He held his hands out in a gesture of peace or simply to fend off any blows, she couldn't tell. She could hear Barry's laugh come straight from his belly and even Rebecca, who stood slightly behind Chris, was trying to bite back a laugh at Jill's surprise.

"For someone so big how did you get so quiet?" she snapped.

Chris was grinning like a Cheshire cat, "For someone trained in stealth and infiltration this must be a bad day for you."

Jill was about to rip him a new one when it hit her.

_Chris was trying to flirt......._

As the realization dawned in her mind, Jill couldn't help but grin back even if she felt like an idiot for doing it. Chris never had any trouble giving her a little ribbing for a laugh. It was part of their relationship from nearly day one, and Jill had always returned the favor. The fact however he had been whispering intimately in her ear, even as part of joke, was something that was completely out of character for Chris Redfield. Despite the closeness they shared, Chris had always been conscience of maintaining clear lines in their partnership. Oh sure they had flirted in the past, but it had always been shuttered before it went anywhere. That he was flirting the very day after Jill had with no uncertainty crossed one of the lines was nothing short of shocking.

_Is he ok with what happened last night?_

Jill had been planning on apologizing for last night and blaming it on the near death experience they had just survived, which was partly true. After Chris had left last night, Jill had been unable to sleep and instead spent most of the night trying to convince herself that she had made a huge mistake. She had told herself that she couldn't risk the relationship she already had with her partner and best friend. The bond they shared was something Jill wouldn't trade for the world. Still, the possibility for that bond to grow stronger was something she had always wanted, but had been almost unaware of, until she had seen Chris' face drained of color from his wounds just a few days past.

Jill only smiled innocently in response to her partners actions, then said very quietly "Redfield, I'd be careful. My stealth skills maybe a bit rusty but my aim is dead on."

Barry laughed only harder.

Jill quickly excused herself to find Claire, the party was emptying out and soon everyone would be leaving. It was time to get that picture. It only took her a minute to track down the younger Redfield, but it took several attempts for the picture to come out right. When it was done though all of them admitted they wanted copies before they started to head off to the parking lot to go home. Barry was off to visit his daughter and Rebecca had to return to the hospital. They said their goodbyes then left to go their seperate ways, leaving Claire, Chris, and Jill together in the parking lot.

After a moment of watching Rebecca's and Barry's cars vanish towards the freeway, Claire bid them a good afternoon. She said Leon and her were going to grab a late lunch and catch up.

Jill could see Chris wanted to say something but stopped himself.

_He'll never be able to stop acting like a big brother. _

As the younger Redfield walked off, Jill took a look at the digital copy. Rebecca had her hands behind her back trying to look serious, but the smiles in her eyes said the eighteen year old girl was still in there somewhere. Barry had taken up the center of the picture with his arms spread so he could put his hands on both Chris and Rebecca's shoulders. When Jill looked at her and Chris though she saw the picture started to take on a different emotion than the joyful reunion that was evident in Rebecca and Barry's faces. Chris had put his hand on her shoulder during one of the takes and she had reached out with her own to grasp it. The pose made them look like a couple.

"Any good?" she heard Chris' voice ask. They were alone now in the parking lot.

Jill looked up then handed him the camera, "You need to make sure your sister gets her camera back."

"I will," he said as he inspected the image. Jill just watched him and saw when the corners of his mouth lifted at the sight of the photo.

It had to be a little before 3 pm by now. The sun was still in the sky but within two hours it would be setting, leaving Jill to figure out what to do with her first night off.

"Have dinner with me?" the words erupted from Jill's mouth. She hadn't planned on that at all, but the question was out there now. She looked into his blue eyes and steeled herself in the event of disappointment.

_Well now I really get to find out the repercussions of last night._

Chris held her gaze evenly and as far as she could tell he didn't seem to feel awkward about it.

"Your place?" he asked her softly, just as he had when wishing her goodnight a little more than 12 hours ago.

She nodded.

"When?"

"7 o'clock?" her eyes never left his.

"See you then, partner." Chris said with that same softness. He turned to go and this time Jill only watched him walk to his jeep, with a quiet smile on her face. There would be time for more later.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic.

Quick Chapter.

A man stood alone in a pristine bathroom, standing over a mirror, examining himself. Half his face was covered by a white patch that was being held to his face by white bandages of the same fabric. The man pulled off the patch that covered part of his face. He was forced to do it before a mirror so he could examine the wound. As he pulled off the patch part of his vision blurred and then within a few seconds it cleared back to its perfect vision.

There no longer was a wound.

The man smiled to himself. It was was a thin toothless smile, one that could suit multiple occasions. Whether it was meant to be mocking, arrogant, or condescending, the man's pressed together lips suited the desired emotion perfectly. The man had not known whether his eye would regenerate. Apparently it could.

As he gazed at the patch that had served to protect his wound the past few days and he saw the traces of blood coated on it. Anyone who saw it would likely think it was just a man's blood. They would be wrong. No, this blood did not belong to any of the 6 billion flawed beings that inhabited the Earth.

_It belonged to something greater. It belonged to a god._

Albert Wesker felt satisfaction flow through his entire being. He still had many questions of exactly what his body was capable of withstanding but now he knew their was one less question.

"It is a shame I never got to properly thank you, William, for my invulnerability." Wesker said to the air. If the shade of William Birkin could hear him it would have cringed at the mocking tone clearly laced Wesker's voice.

Wesker's thoughts turned back to the words of Ozwell Spencer, as they had many times over the last few days. Umbrella had meant to bring about a new superior human race, one where Spencer had thought he could rule over with virus granted super powers. A new human race.

_Old fool, you might have been a visionary but you were too weak for such power. That right lies with me._

Uroboros would be the path to his ascension once it was complete. For now the virus was still too poisonous for human's to be used as BOW's with any expectation of survival. While the virus would make an infected person a near unstoppable mass of blackish leech like tendrils, no more than a half an hour after being injected, the virus would end up killing the host and thus itself.

_Once we figure out how to adapt it to humans, so it can be controlled, the world will witness the birth of a new era._

So far their most successful case had involved injecting a Ndesu, a gigantic cousin to the El Gigante infected with a more powerful variant of the Las Plagas parasite. The Ndesu apparently had enough flesh that the Las Plagas and Uroboros had somehow managed to find a state of equilibrium in the battle for domination over the titanic body. That beast was the most powerful BOW Wesker had manage to birth so far with his experiments, but required mounds of corpses to consume so that Uroboros would not start to feast on the Ndesu's own flesh and destroy its host.

Powerful yes, but highly inefficient.

Wesker reached for his shades on the bathroom sink and placed the firmly on his face before exiting. He entered a lavishly decorated bedroom, where a woman awaited him. The woman had black hair in a tight but elaborate bun, wearing a dress so small and tight her assets nearly spilled out of it. The woman was beautiful and knew it, everything about her screamed she was an woman who loved power and would do anything for.

_She is a fool though, she believes she is an equal partner._

"Good as knew?" Excella Gionne said in her thick Italian accent as he entered the room.

"Yes, quite." If Wesker did not need the woman and the power she held over Tricell, a massive pharmaceutical company, he would have disposed of her long ago. Excella, however, had no idea. She still believed she could trick Wesker into bed and make him infatuated with her. She overestimated herself quite a bit.

"I'm surprised you were wounded at all. What is so special about this Christopher Redfield?" Excella asked feigning ignorance.

_She's trying to bait me. Don't hunt a predator that is stronger and smarter than you, dear Excella._

"Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine trained under me at S.T.A.R.S., they possess an edge no one else has." Wesker allowed the hints of a threat to enter his voice.

"Still they must be worthy foes to harm one such as yourself at all," Excella demurred. She no doubt picked up the subtle threat.

"They have had more experience hunting BOWs than anyone in the world, but still luck saved them not skill." Wesker gritted his teeth at the though of his former subordinates.

_Redfield especially. Only Chris Redfield has that type of luck. He's survived two confrontations with me, but when next we meet I intend to decide the matter. Perhaps I will end Jill first just to watch him break._

The simple thought of the man was enough to stroke the flames of Wesker's cold rage. Wesker had hated Redfield long for the events of the past week, but now that the man had actually managed to injured him destroying Christopher Redfield would bring Wesker no end of satisfaction.

"At least the BSAA believes you are dead. They even held a celebration today honoring your former lackeys," Excella's eyes watched him closely to gauge his reaction.

Wesker smiled coldly. "Is that so? Excella, contact our new friends in Europe I will require their services. What kind of Captain would I be if I did not send them a congratulatory gift?"

Wesker's eyes glowed red even through his sunglasses.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic.

Chris

Chris Redfield felt like an idiot. He was starring into the mirror in his bathroom examining his appearance. If his sister could see him she would have been howling with laughter....

Chris was having trouble figuring out what he was going to wear. He must have changed four or five times and had yet to feel satisfied. The problem was he didn't exactly know what he was getting dressed for. Jill had invited him to dinner but he had know way of knowing in what capacity. Was it dinner between partners? Friends? Or was it a date? At first he had thought it was a date given the fact of what had occured between them last night and that they had done some light flirting at the celebration held for their success earlier in the day. Now though he was starting to doubt himself. What if it was simple dinner between old friends? Chris and Jill typically had dinner at least one or twice a week when they were on downtime. During missions, if they were lucky to have dinner, it was always in each others company. Chris was driving himself nuts over thinking this.

_I've killed monsters, survived near death experiences, and what is it that slows me down? A kiss and dinner invitation from Jill Valentine. Frost, if you're up there watching this, you better be amused._

At first thought he would ask a friend for a ruling on how to treat this. Unfortunately who could he call? Barry was off with his eldest daughter, enjoying some family bonding time while she was away at college. Rebecca? Chris certainly wasn't planning on asking anyone from work about this. Claire? Well its was sufficent to say Chris would burn in hell before he gave his sister ammunition like that. As close as they were, Chris wouldn't tell even his sister anything until he was sure about it himself if he did at all. Claire had openly asked him about Jill several times and just what she was in his life. Chris had always responded with the patented 'She's my partner' line. Until recently, Chris felt that as long as he and Jill worked together nothing would happen between them. Since Chris, somehow in his mind, pictured them always being partners that had pretty much meant never.

_No point in talking about anything until you're sure its something after all._

Then of course there was the problem if it actually was something between them. Chris and Jill were partners. They worked together and had been through thick and thin more times than Chris could count. Chris valued that relationship as much as he did the one with his sister. The problem there was if he became more than Jill, where did that leave the partnership? The BSAA frowned heavily on such relationships between co-workers not to mention partners. Anyone who had ever had a partner of the opposite sex that was in a dangerous line of work knew not to mix work and romance. At first you would think what was the big deal. Then you're performance and judgment would start to falter. What if you had to choose between the mission and your significant other? What if others lives depended on the mission objectives? Involved co-workers could not be trusted to make the appropriate decision. Studies had shown that partners involved in a romantic relationship saw their ability suffer. One or more of the partners would typically become overly protective and not trust their partner's abilities leaving increased friction and reduced performance. Normally either the partnership ended or the relationship did. Sometime is got worse and one would lose their rational thinking in the face of danger, getting themselves and maybe their partner killed. Chris had seen that happen between other members of the Raccoon City Police Department before he had even met Jill. Chris knew he should have ended the kiss last night and started reinforcing the fact nothing could happen between them.

_If only life was that easy._

Chris had one very big obstacle for trying to get things to go back to normal. After seeing Jill nearly die in the fight against Wesker, a part of him had woken up. Well OK not so much as woken up as much as a part he had become aware of. The part that was irrevocably in love with Jill Valentine. Jill was his best friend and whenever Chris had thought of his future, he only knew two people he needed to have with him. One was his sister and the other was his partner. Jill had become such a permanent fixture in his life that Chris had started to take for granted that she would always be there. Suddenly confronted with the possibility that she might not always be, Chris realized he had repressing and flat out ignoring the feelings he held for his partner so he would not have to confront the issue. Chris had placed so much emphasis over who Jill was to him as a partner and friend he had blinded himself to what was underneath the surface. At this point he wasn't sure he could go back to being just partners now.

The fact remained, however, that if he and Jill went back to just being partners and something happened to her.....well it wouldn't matter if they acted on those feeling or not because Chris Redfield would shatter like glass. A brutal Catch-22.

Of course he was getting ahead of himself since he still had no idea whether this was a date or not.

_Hence why I'm an idiot._

Chris sighed. He had to be at Jill's in less that half-an-hour.

_Better to go overdressed than under I guess._

Taking his own advice, Chris put on a pair of black slacks with a buttoned up white short-sleeved shirt. The shirt was tight on him without being annoyingly so, but it looked good.. Quickly he ran his hands through his hair so that it looked like it did everyday. Taking a deep breathe to push out any anxiety, Chris collected his keys, wallet, and phone then exited his apartment.

The drive to Jill's apartment was relatively short from his own, all together it was never more than 20 minutes. For the first time, Chris wished the distance was a bit longer so he'd have more time to organize his thoughts. No such luck, he found himself parking outside her complex right on time. Chris let out one last deep breathe to steady his nerves and set out towards the side of the building Jill's apartment resided. In no time at all he was standing before her door, giving it a firm knock.

_Here goes nothing._

Chris heard a muffled shout of "coming" followed by the quick pitter-patter of Jill's feet running towards the door. As she opened it, Chris knew he hadn't overdressed. Jill was dressed in a pale blue dress that matched her eyes. It started just before her breasts and was held on by straps that traveled over both shoulders. The dress was form fitting and highlighted all her features before ending half way down her shins. She had straightened her hair once again so it lay of either side of her face but the top of her hair was combed back, which was a look he had never seen her wear before. Finally she was again wearing a bare amount of eyeliner and makeup designed to accentuate her natural beauty.

There was no doubt that this was a date to Jill Valentine.

"Hey," she said as she met his eyes.

"Hey, yourself. I think you won the 'who's better looking competition' we were having."

_Seriously Chris, that's the best you have? You should have just stayed home. _

At least it was a call back to an argument they had gotten into one night during at stakeout back in Raccoon City. Chris knew how to talk to Jill his friend, but talking to Jill his date was going to be a whole new learning experience. It was as if the person he had so much history with, and thought he knew as well as himself, had suddenly become a mystery.

Jill just rolled her eyes and smirked at him, "Come in Chris." She moved aside to allow him to enter.

Jill's apartment was dimly lit, she was obviously trying to create an intimate atmosphere. Jill quickly closed the door behind him, telling him to make himself comfortable as she walked over to the oven and pulled out a covered roasting pan.

Chris curiosity got the better of him, "What did the chef prepare?"

She shot him a look, "Pot roast and vegetables."

Chris lifted his eyebrows impressed. "Need a hand with anything?"

Jill turned around and poked a finger into his chest. "You sir, can open a bottle of wine then go sit down at the dinner table," she ordered in a playful voice.

She again moved past him, grabbing some matches she lit the candles that decorated the center of her small dinner table. However once she finished her playful expression began to falter.

Looking him again straight in the eye she asked in a hesitant voice, "Is this ok?"

Chris knew her question had nothing to do with pot roast or candles. Jill was looking for reassurance.

"Yeah, its ok. Its........just right." He told her in that soft voice that had been reserved for Jill long ago. His gaze never wavered. Though she gave no outside indication of it, Chris had a feeling his answer pleased her immensely.

_I'm not the only one who's in unfamiliar territory._

As Jill moved back to the kitchen, Chris found her bottle opener and proceeded to open the bottle of Pinot Noir she had set out. Sparing a quick glance at his partner, Chris saw her turn slightly away from him putting portions onto the dinner plates. Unaware that he was looking her way, Jill had no way of knowing the private smile she was trying to hide from him did not go unnoticed.

Chris turned back to pour the wine, allowing himself his own private smile.

----------

They had just finished eating. The food had been excellent and the wine had complimented it greatly. At the very beginning it had been awkward. Chris had complimented the food, letting Jill know he was impressed she had put this all together in such little time. Jill had thanked him and for a while conversation had been polite but not particularly interesting. This was new for both of them.

However, as the wine started to flow more freely so too did their conversations. They had started to tell stupid stories from the past. Chris had just finished telling Jill about the time Claire had stolen his motorcycle when she had been 15, thinking she would be able to take off for a weekend with some friends who had a private cabin in the mountains. The police had returned her within an hour after they had found her along side the road having run out of gas. 15 year old Claire had planned out everything. The roads she would take, the clothes she would bring, and the gas stations she could fill up at. The teenager had however forgotten that gas required money and a flat broke 15 year old wouldn't get very far.

Jill's eyes were shining with amusement as she laughed, no doubt imagining the intelligent and self-confident Claire feeling like a moron. Chris was glad the original awkwardness had been broken. He felt like he was hanging out with his partner and old friend rather than on a date, so Chris had started to relax. It was just an added benefit his partner was beautiful and happened to be wearing something that drew the eye.

"Now I don't want you going and telling Claire that I told you about that," Chris said leaning in conspiratorially. "You don't want your partner killed do you?"

Jill tilted her head as if considering her options. "Well maybe Claire wouldn't take it so bad if I told her some incriminating story about her big brother," Jill was smiling deviously at him. "Maybe that story about Club Reyes.....," she let her voice trail off.

Chris gave her a look of disbelief. "You wouldn't!"

Jill was into it now. She was far being far more playful and flirtatious than she'd been since the summer of 98, before they had ever heard of the T-Virus. "Claire, have I ever told you about Club Reyes?" Jill had her head turned as though his sister was sitting next to her, sharing in the conversation. "Club Reyes was an infamous strip club back in Raccoon City for women. Well your brother, Forest Speyer, and I were there because a local drug smuggler Gina Tolero, who we suspected of smuggling drugs to fund terrorist activities. Tolero used the establishment to talk to her associates because the music and crowd would make it hard for anyone to overhear. We were all undercover. Your brother was acting as the bartender, I was posing as a patron, and good old Forest, because he had lost a bet back at S.T.A.R.S HQ, was playing the part of the entertainment if you catch my meaning."

"Jill just stop," Chris interrupted.

His partner just smirked at him, clearly having no intention of doing anything of the kind. "Well Tolero and her friends arrived and Forest goes out to make good on the bet when he suddenly trips and sprains his ankle."

"Jill I know the story and _I _don't want to hear it"

"Since it was the middle of the day, Chris and Forest were the only 'employees' there at the time. Tolero and her friends figure because there are no girls shouting at a show they should go elsewhere. That's when your brother..." Jill was enjoying his torment.

Chris surrendered to his embarrassment, "Fine, if you want to tell my sister that story go ahead. Just be sure you don't leave out the part where I made a grand in tips. Two-hundred of which came from a Miss Valentine."

"I didn't want you to feel bad," Jill responded with false sympathy.

Chris buried his head in his hand. He hadn't thought about that in years.....with good reason. He had just been thankful there had been a tight costume that was the only thing that saved his dignity. Still Chris remembered feeling mortified when his partner after making the arrest, tucked two Ben Franklins in his shorts. Chris had been unable to look Jill in the eye for a week after that.

_Thank goodness those were the days before YouTube and video capture phones._

"I still think Speyer fell on purpose," he said, looking up to see Jill was still smirking at him. "OK story time is now over." He'd had enough embarrassment for one day.

Jill was putting her pouty good looks to work in a silent protest. Chris had to give her a hard stare before she relented.

"Alright partner, whats next then? We could watch a movie." she asked.

"Sounds good, you pick the movie and I'll open the next bottle." Chris was just happy to be doing anything else. His face was beet red and not all of it was from the wine.

Chris walked to the alcohol cabinet and pulled out another bottle. As he started to tear off the foil cover, he felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. Something wasn't right. He didn't hear Jill rummaging through her DVD's.

"You're cute when you blush, partner," a voice said intimately in his ear. To his credit Chris did not jump much. He spun around to see Jill smiling this time with satisfaction, no doubt for getting him back for pulling the same move earlier in the day. She turned away quickly and headed toward the living room so he wouldn't have a chance to retaliate.

Chris could only shake his head. _It's good to see her this carefree again. If only we had killed Wesker years ago, what might have happend? How much time would we have saved? Is it my fault we never got closer because I was so consumed with fighting?_

Chris didn't know the answers to his questions. He only knew the past and the present, but there was one thing Chris Redfield knew about the future. He was going to kiss Jill Valentine before the night was over.

----------

They had been watching the movie for just around an hour, each taking gradual sips of wine, before Chris came to the conclusion he was slighty drunk. He had to imagine Jill was in no better condition than he. She had been drinking right along with him and she wasn't anywhere near as big as he was. They were watching Casino Royal, the new James Bond film that had just arrived on DVD. Both of them were comfortably sitting on the couch. Originally when they had sat down to watch the movie, Chris and Jill had taken their normal seats when they were watching TV at Jill's. Both typically sat on either side of her couch, leaving the middle seat open between them so Jill could rest her legs on it as she usually did. It was normal and something they did automatically without thinking, and on any other day Chris wouldn't have spared it another thought.

Tonight, though, was a bit different and less than thirty minutes Chris became acutely aware of the small distance that separated them and it started to annoy him. He should have had a little more foresight and sat closer to her. This was supposed to be a date after all, and when you went to the movies on a date you didn't leave a space between yourself and your date. Jill had turned the lights off so the television was casting the only light in the room. The mood was romantic and here he was a good foot away from her. Chris shot the small space between them another frown.

This time though, Jill must have noticed as she started to scoot over closer to him then swung her legs over his lap and leaned her body into his.

"Better?" she questioned.

"Much," he answered and she turned her head back towards the television.

Was he that transparent? Or had she been thinking the same thing?

_Jill Valentine, you would laugh if you knew how much of a mystery you are to me right now._

Seeing she was engaged in the watching the TV, he took a moment to study her. At 30 Jill was as beautiful as she had been when they had met back when she had only been 22. Her hair was still the same rich brown, though it was obviously longer these day. For years she had kept it short, no longer than her jaw line, but in recent years she had decided to grow it out so it ended a little below her neck. At work she kept it tied back and put it under a baseball cap so it wouldn't get in her eyes. Those eyes had always seem a little large for her face to him, but that was part of their lure he supposed. Back when they had first met he had thought her eyes were one of Jill's most telling features. They typically were very expressive of what she was feeling, though after they had been reunited after she escaped Raccoon City that her eyes had lost some of that quality.

Chris had always gotten the feeling their was something she hadn't told him about her escape. He had never pried even though he had wanted to. When she had finally found him, not long after he had rescued Claire and dealt with Alexia Ashford, she had made it clear she needed to help destroy Umbrella and that was why she had sought him out. Chris had been just happy she was OK that he had just started involving her in his work as though nothing had happened. He knew enough from talking from the survivors of Raccoon just what happened when the city destroyed itself to know what she must have been forced to deal with. Jill, though, had never talked about with him.

_If I hadn't been so consumed with hunting down Umbrella I might have lingered in Raccoon City longer. I should have been there to help both Claire and Jill get out._

Chris hadn't lingered though, he had already been in Europe preparing to take on Umbrella alone if necessary. He had no way of knowing the Claire would come to Raccoon to find him or that Jill wouldn't leave before disaster struck. Still, Chris had never stopped feeling guilty for not being there, he should have been thinking of his friends and family instead of revenge. Jill and his sister had been forced to rely on strangers to make their escape from that hell.

_I don't care what it costs me, if Jill and Claire are ever in a position like that again, I will get them out. No matter what._ For some reason Chris' resolve send a shiver down his own spine.

The movement must have alerted his partner, because Jill turned her head back around to look at him.

"Are you ok?" Jill's eyes were squished up at the corners as she studied him.

"Yeah, just old thoughts," he replied. Chris did not meet her eyes for a reason he didn't understand himself.

Chris expected her to returned her attention back to the movie but she did not. Instead Jill continued to search his face as though she saw something that had concerned her and she need to be sure of what she saw.

_Good job Redfield, you've ruined the mood for her too now._

Chris' vision settled on Jill's lips since he had chosen to avoid her eyes. He would have smiled if his mood had not turned dark so quickly. By far and away Chris had always believed Jill's most attractive feature was her lips. They possessed a natural pout to them that seemed to make them instantly kissable.

_Maybe the mood isn't completely gone._

"Chris?" Jill's question made him finally make eye contact with her. He could tell she had picked up on his dark mood and it worried her.

Chris decided he had wasted enough time in his life. Chris hand found the side of her face, his fingers behind her ear and his thumb rested before it as he cupped her face. He kissed her as tenderly as he could. Jill responded hesitantly at first, she must still have been concerned, but then all her hesitation vanished and she melted against him. Chris poured his feelings into the kiss. He tried to tell her in that kiss how sorry he was for not being there when she needed him, how she was his best friend, how he'd been afraid he would lose her, and how he had wanted this for years even if had been unaware of it. Whether she understood or not Jill deepened the kiss then threw her legs on either side of him as she sat in his lap facing him. One of her hands found the side of his neck and the other found the back of his arm.

Chris had no idea how long they remained like that, but figured it must have been some time. Their kissing slowly moved to from tenderness to joy, at finally arriving at this moment, then finally to outright passion. That was when Jill stood up suddenly, grabbed his hands and pulled him up with her. Her eyes left no doubts as to where she was taking him. She led him across across the living room to her bedroom.

Chris started to get nervous. He knew he loved her but were they moving too fast? He had meant what he had been thinking earlier about not wasting anymore time, but in his mind he wanted to do better for Jill than going all the way with her on the first date while being a bit intoxicated. This woman was his best friend and he would do anything for her. Despite his body's protests to just go along with it, Jill Valentine deserved more from him. She had for years, and now he was finally going to stop taking her for granted.

"Jill, we can't," he said and he started to slow his movement towards the bedroom.

His partner whipped her head around, eyes wide. Chris could see Jill was no doubt thinking he had changed his mind about the new aspects their partnership was experiencing. Jill looked as vulnerable as he had ever seen her. Her body seemed to shirk back from him.

"No, it's not that," he tried to reassure her. Taking a deep breathe, he gave his thoughts voice. "It's just that we have been partners and friends for a long time. This is something I don't want to rush into. Not because of any worries I have, but because you mean the world to me Jill. I want to start showing you that and sleeping with you half-drunk isn't the best way of starting. We have two weeks to ourselves, why don't we use that time get used to this rather than rush in." He smiled at her, "Besides I was thinking our first time might be on vacation at some beach house."

As he spoke he could see Jill's vulnerability start to recede. When he mentioned the part about a beach house she started to smirk at him. "Planning it out already are you?" she teased him.

His silence indicated his guilt and Jill laughed.

"Well Rebecca did say no strenuous activity," she joked and it was his turn to laugh.

Chris pulled her into his embrace, "You OK with this?" he asked.

"You know if someone told me when we were first met that I'd be spending my nights kissing Chris Redfield, I might have laughed. But yeah, I'm happy with this. Happier then I've been in a long time." she confessed.

"Me too," he told her.

Jill pushed away slightly from his chest so she could look him in the eyes. "Stay tonight," it was a request.

He nodded and followed her as she went into the bedroom to lie down. He placed his arms around her to gently hold her, as she began to use his chest as a place to rest her head. They stayed like that just enjoying the feel of the other.

"You know you're going to have to do that dance for me you did at Club Reyes sometime." Jill's voice said.

"Better luck next time, Valentine."

Even in the dark Chris could feel her smile.

Next on Chapter 8: Expect to see more danger and action as the plot progresses.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic.

Jill

The first sensation that entered Jill's consciousness was that she was warm. It wasn't an uncomfortable warm like when you slept with too many covers. No instead it was an extremely pleasant feeling. As if her body had found the exact temperature it wanted. The second thing Jill noticed was she felt remarkably well rested, something that was a rare occurrence in her world. As she started to slowly awaken and process the thoughts that drifted through her groggy mind, she became aware of a third sensation....that she was being held.

_What......._

Jill turned her head slightly and saw a muscular arm that was covered in bandages. Suddenly the grogginess disappeared and was replaced by memories. Memories of the previous night.

_Chris. _Jill felt her heart skip a beat and a lightness, enveloped her removing all her burdens. Even if it was only temporary it was a wonderful feeling.

Slowly, Jill turned over so as not to awaken her sleeping partner. Chris was slumbering peacefully, not even making a noise. His hair was tousled from sleep and he needed a shave as a good bit of stubble situated itself on his face that had not been their the previous night. He was still dressed in what he had come over in, a white dress shirt and black slacks. She then realized that _she_ was still in her dress. They had fallen asleep in their clothes rather than bothering to change she remembered. She should change.

_After a moment, I want to enjoy this a little while longer._

Jill let herself just lay there for another 5 minutes before she quietly extracted herself from her partner. As stealthy as she could, which considering her background was impressive, Jill collected some clothes to change into then slipped out of the bedroom to the living room. She closed the door behind her so Chris could enjoy sleeping in a bit more. She immediately went to the bathroom and started to change. Jill hung her dress then put on a blue tanktop and comfortable pair of jeans. She brushed her teeth and washed her face, then on a sudden urge reapplied just a bit of eye liner. Jill was a bit surprised her partner had not made a comment on the makeup she had been wearing yesterday when they had gone into work, not suspecting a congratulatory party for bagging Wesker and Spencer. It was exactly like Chris to tease her on anything he could, but he had held his tongue yesterday.

_Probably knew what was best for him._

Finally satisfied with her appearance Jill entered the kitchen. It was already 8:20 so she put on a pot of coffee to help wake her up. When it was ready she poured herself a cup then sat down at the kitchen table. It felt nice to be able to just sit and enjoy a cup of coffee, without anywhere to be or anything to do. Jill glanced at the living room and saw a pair of wine glasses on the coffee table right before the couch. That brought a smile to her face as she recalled just what she had been doing there only a few hours earlier.

Chris had certainly surprised her with his change of attitude last night. It had seemed to Jill that at first he was reluctant to explore the changes that had suddenly taken over their relationship, but last night he had been a perfect date. He made her laugh, had allowed her to tease him mercilessly, and then out of nowhere proceeded to kiss her so thoroughly he made her toes tingle.

_And he wants to romance me rather than get me into bed at the first opportunity._

Jill had never thought of Chris anything but a complete gentleman when it came to women. He had always treated every woman she had seen him with, girlfriend or coworker, with nothing less than total respect. Still even knowing that, she had been surprised when he turned down her offer last night. At first she had been afraid he had changed his mind about the direction their relationship was heading, but no he was just trying to not rush things.

_Take some time and smell the flowers? I wonder what Barry really said to him._

Whatever it was it must have been good. Jill was also glad at least one of them was acting reasonably. She had been ready to jump into bed with him without a second thought last night, but now she was extremely thankful for Chris' sensible request to slow things down. Jill hadn't entertained male company in that respect since her last boyfriend in Raccoon City so she didn't exactly have all the necessary precautions, and she didn't think Chris had come prepared. Jill doubted she would have cared much last night, caught up in the moment as she was. Considering Jill had never before acted like that it was startling.

_When did Chris Redfield become the level-headed one of the two of us? You're going have to try and control some of your hormones Valentine._

Jill would have to make a trip to the pharmacy soon since she doubted, despite Chris' romantic suggestion of taking some vacation time and renting a beach-house for the weekend, that either one of them was reliable enough to be that sensible if things got hot and heavy again. Nearly a decade of pent up emotion and desire was even stronger than Jill imagined it would be. It was amazing that neither of them had acted on it before now. Even so she was glad her and Chris were finally at this point. They might have had to nearly lose each other in order to realize it, but at least they were doing something about it at last.

Jill wondered what the others would think. Barry would no doubt tease them about taking so long. Rebecca would be happy for them, well after Jill convinced Chris they could trust at least one person from work. Claire was the one Jill would be most interested in seeing the reaction. Chris' sister had always been curious about the relationship Jill had with her brother. More than once Claire had jokingly demanded to know Jill's intentions towards Chris, and Jill had always said they were 'just partners.' Jill was fairly confident that answer had always made Claire a bit sad. Sad because she wanted Chris to find someone, and Claire trusted Jill. Over the years though when nothing happened to change her and Chris' partnership, Claire had stopped asking and just seemed to accept Jill as her brother's best friend and a non-romantic interest.

_I wonder if she will be surprised I'm his......girlfriend?_

The label sounded foreign even in her thoughts. Being a girlfriend and having a boyfriend was going to take some serious getting used to.

"Please tell me that's not decaf," a voice asked.

Jill turned and saw Chris stumbling out of the bedroom wiping the last traces of sleep from his eyes.

"It's not. Want a cup?" she asked back.

He nodded and she stood up to pour him a cup.

"It's okay, I can get it myself," he told her heading towards the kitchen.

_Always trying to do everything himself._

Jill intercepted him and poked a finger in his chest. "I'm sure you can, but one of the advantages of treating your girlfriend well is that she might want to get it for you." Jill had almost said partner but decided she wanted to see his reaction to the g-word.

Chris frowned for a second, then seemed to shrug to himself. Realizing she was watching he started to look sheepish before giving her his lopsided smile.

"Girlfriend huh? Are there anymore perks involved?" he asked her in a teasing tone.

_Flirting this early Redfield? I'm impressed._

"Oh yes, quite a few. More expensive moisturizers, occasional back rubs, and better hygiene are all involved." she told him.

"Anything else?" Chris closed the distance between them. Just as it had last night, his kiss left her breathless with her toes tingling and surprisingly she couldn't pick up any morning breath. Chris Redfield was full of surprises these days.

Jill got Chris his coffee and they sat down together at the kitchen table. She didn't say anything and neither did he. They sat for a while in comfortable silence doing nothing other than gazing at the other one. It was nice. Of course it was then that outside world decided to intrude.

Jill recognized the ring of Chris' cell phone immediately and she groaned. The moment was spoiled. Chris shot her a look of apology then took his phone out from him pocket. He gazed at it for a moment before hitting a button that silenced the ringing.

"It's Claire. I'll give her a call back in a little bit," he explained.

"Are you planning on telling her?" Jill wanted to know.

Chris seemed to contemplate it for a moment before answering. "Not yet, I'd actually like a few more days of just keeping to ourselves before we start telling anyone."

"Oh." _He's not embarrassed about this is he?_

Chris must have figured out what she was thinking. "I'd honestly like to just spend the next few days with just you. Once we start telling people I have a feeling it will be like we are on display," he said.

That made sense to her. They were both private people and didn't appreciate others trying to butt in to their business. It was just one of the many things Jill had in common with her partner........boyfriend. _Definitely going to take some getting used to._

That was when Jill's cell started to ring. She looked at the caller, it was Claire. Jill gave Chris a look to let him know who it was. Chris just gestured for her to pick up.

"Hey Claire," Jill said putting the phone to her ear.

"Jill, thank god. Is my brother with you?" There was something in the other Redfield's voice that caused Jill to become alert.

"Yeah he's right here asleep on my couch, he had dinner here last night and had a little too much to drink. Is everything okay?" Jill let herself lie just a little so she wouldn't have explain the real on why Chris was at her place that early.

"You don't know? Jill, the BSAA headquarters was just bombed." Claire told her.

And with those words the tranquility Jill had been experiencing died violently.

----------------------------------------

Jill stood side by side with Chris as they examined the devastation from outside the perimeter created by the police and firefighters around the BSAA central headquarters. Most of the building was gone, debris covered the enter area. Flames still burned in some portions of what remained of the structure, but most of the fire was under control . Still even from this distance Jill could feel the heat. Paramedics continually were running in and out bringing with them the dead and the odd survivor. The sight and stench were enough to make Jill feel ill.

The bomb had detonated a little after 9 o'clock.

_No doubt to catch any late stragglers to work._ The grim thought added to Jill's disgust.

After Claire's call, Jill and Chris had immediately taken off to the site. The whole way while Chris drove, Jill had been on her cell trying to contact friends and co-workers. Though Jill had yet to speak with her, Jill had found out Rebecca had been at the hospital at the time of the explosion from a nurse. _Thank you for that. _The rest of Jill's calls had been met only with silence.

When they had arrived at the compound they had quickly identified themselves and been ushered through the first line of firetrucks, police vehicles, ambulances, and media vans that had encircled what remained of the offices. Once there they had little to do however but watch and be left to their thoughts. They had both offered to help the firefighters search for survivors but that offer had been adamantly refused.

Jill looked over at her partner. Chris' face was tight. He had that look of cold anger that had covered his face in the years after the fall of Raccoon City, the one that screamed he would find those responsible and extract his revenge. To Jill, that look was as chilling as the destruction they had found upon arrival. She wanted to reach out to him and try to comfort him but she knew it would do nothing. Neither of them would feel better for it. Not today.

Jill saw then that a fire chief and police officer was approaching them. She nudged Chris so he would see them walking towards the two of them.

"Agent Redfield, Agent Valentine?" the police officer asked.

Chris nodded.

"I'm police chief Grains, do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"No, that will be alright," Jill's voice sounded like a strangers in her own ears.

"Do have any idea how a bomb could have gotten on the facility? I was under the impression due to the nature of the BSAA's line of work all incoming packages were analyzed before they would be allowed into the building." Grains asked.

"No, that correct. Anything coming from an outside source is examined for bio-weapons," Jill replied.

"That means however an explosive found its way here, it had to be previously cleared or brought in by someone with access." Chris added coldly.

Jill shot Chris a look. His explanation made the most amount of sense, but that meant this had been done by one of their own. A traitor.

Grains nodded. His eyes kept examining the two BSAA agents. _He's wondering if we had anything to do with it._

"What about the container in the storage house? It seemed to have withstood the fire easily, whats in it?" Grains questioned.

_Container?_

Chris verbalized her thoughts, "What container?"

"We found a container with the BSAA Europe logo in what remained of the storage house. The material of the container is highly resistant to extreme heat. Do my men need to concerned with biological hazards?" the fire chief finally spoke.

Chris gave Jill a glance. _Something's not right. We both know it._

"All biohazardous materials are examined then destroyed, the BSAA doesn't keep any of the materials they find on site. Any materials used as evidence are kept in several secure locations through the world," Jill answered the fire chief.

"Show me the container," Chris suddenly interrupted. "And Grains," Chris was looking the other man dead in the eye, "bring some firepower."

"You think there's a threat?" Grains asked, the man was starting to sweat.

"Maybe." Chris said nothing else.

Grains quickly assembled a dozen officers, each armed with an M4 assault rifle. Chris and Jill were flat out denied on their request to be similarly armed.

It did not take long to reach the storage house. The storage house was the name of the warehouse that the BSAA kept much of their equipment for shipment overseas. Frequently the BSAA would send vehicles such as jeeps or rescue helicopters, or other equipment to other branches. The storage house was where that equipment would be packaged into containers then shipped overseas. It also serves to hold containers from incoming branches.

When they had arrived, Jill saw the firefighters had put out the fire but the fire had gutted most of the structure anyway. As if in protest to the destruction that surrounded it, a single container sat in the remains of the building that had housed it. The BSAA Europe insignia firmly marked its outer casing. The container itself was not too large. It was barely big enough to fit Chris' jeep. Jill felt herself at combat readiness. She looked to her partner to see he was already at the same state. A look passed between them as it normally did before they entered a dangerous situation. They were as ready as they could be.

Together the group of them approached the container, the police had their arms at the ready. As they got closer a small red light appeared on the box.

_A motion sensor? What?_

The doors started to open of their own accord. Jill tensed, the police had their assault rifles ready to fire.

Then Jill saw it. The inside of the container had a lab chair, and strapped to it was a middle aged man who looked to be of Eastern European descent. An IV was attached to his hand, in the IV bag was a substance that looked like some kind of black oil.

The man cried something in a language Jill did not understand, but the meaning was perfectly clear. Help me.

That was when the man's eyes when completely black so no white even showed. Small black leech looking tentacles started to erupted from the man's skin and the man screamed in horror and pain.

"EVERYONE GET BACK!" Jill screamed.

The leech like substance tore through the mans restrains and suddenly seemed to consume the man's flesh until only the man's face remained, stretched out like some plastic mask. Gunfire erupted as the police opened fire. Bullets struck all over the writhing black tentacled mass, but if they had any effect Jill couldn't say.

Black tentacles shot out from the mass and speared the closest four officers. They then pulled the men back towards the black mass and more of the leech like tentacles started to consume them. The thing seemed to grow as it did.

Another tentacle slapped an officer in the face and the man screamed. The side of his face looked as if it had been struck with baseball bat.

A M4 assault rifle was put into her hands, and she saw Chris getting his own from one of the ones dropped.

"RUN!" he yelled.

The survivors started to sprint as fast as they could back towards the defensive perimeter. The now larger wretched black mass followed them, hardly seeming to notice the rain of bullets that continued to pelt it.

'ALL OFFICERS FORM A DEFENSIVE PERIMETER. KEEP IT AT BAY!" Grains was yelling orders.

They fell behind the police cars for cover. Jill's heart was pounding in her chest. "What in the hell is that thing?" she yelled over the noise to her partner.

Chris could only shake his head as he continued to fire. They would have to think of something fast.

A wail entered the air and Jill knew it was almost upon them. She looked over the cover and saw it. The police were pumping all of their combined lead into it now.

Suddenly the mass shuddered and seemed to break up. Little leech like tentacles poured over the ground.

"Is it dead?" Jill wondered.

"I don't think so," Chris answered.

He was right. With no warning the mass reformed right under the nearest police car. Black tentacles wrapped the automobile and it was lifted into the air and with a speed matching terminal velocity the car was suddenly heading straight at Grains and four of his officers.

_No._

The monster kept swing the car around using it as a club to clobber its attackers. The whole while more of its tentacles were reach out to collect its kills to add their mass to its own. They needed more firepower, right now.

The monster then turned its attention to the two BSAA agents. Raising the car above its mass so it could crush them, the monster advanced on them.

That's when Jill saw it.

"Chris! Target the fuel tank on the car!" she yelled. This had better work.

Her partner, didn't question her. Years of working together had developed the kind of trust where Chris just reacted to her suggestions. They open fire together this time, not at the black mass but at the car it was using as a weapon. It took most of her magazine but then a flame appeared on the car.

An explosion shook the area for the second time this morning. The difference this time was this one would save lives.

The black mass was enveloped in the inferno and caught fire. More wailing entered Jill's ears and the thing seemed to loose form. It was dying.

Relief flooded her as Jill sat on the pavement trying to catch her breath. She looked over at her partner. Chris seemed okay. He was sweating a little from the heat but he had no wounds. He saw she was looking at him.

"Are you okay?," he asked. His eyes examined her form for the signs of injury.

"I'm not hurt," she answered. Jill put her head on his shoulder and tried to calm down.

"What's going on?" she finally said.

"I don't know, but I intend to find out," there was steel in Chris' voice.

Next up Chapter Nine.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic.

I might be updating the story from T to M. The story is going to be getting a little darker and I might need to do it to be safe.

Chris

The cup of coffee in his hand had long gone cold, but Chris held onto it anyway. He wasn't sure why. There was plenty of coffee left in the pot that was still heated but Chris wasn't interested. Maybe it was because he didn't actually care about drinking more, maybe it was because just holding the cup seemed to provide some comfort. Perhaps it was because Chris still wanted to hold on to the illusion of normalcy. He still wanted to believe that the worst of his problems would be trying to assemble a romantic get away for the weekend. Chris did not want to think about the 135 friends and co-workers that had lost their lives so violently a few hours ago.

One-hundred and thirty five friends that would have to be buried. One-hundred and thirty five families devastated for what? People doing their job and trying to make the world a better place. Trying to make a world without fear.

They were at Chris' apartment. Chris was sitting at his kitchen table alone. Claire and Jill were both in the living room consoling a distraught Rebecca Chambers. Poor Rebecca. It was bad enough Rebecca had to learn of the accident from co-workers at her hospital and no one there that could relate to the anguish she felt, but on top of that the eight survivors the firefighters had managed to pull from the wreckage had been sent to her hospital were she had been forced to operate on several. Rebecca had already told them not all of the survivors would survive the night. One-hundred and thirty five friends apparently was not enough for death to take today.

Claire and Jill both took turns coming over to the kitchen to see if he was alright. He kept telling them he was fine and after a while realized that they wanted him to comfort them, not the other way around. Chris Redfield didn't have that in him today.

No, instead he wanted to be left alone with his thoughts and his rage. Ask anyone who knew him and they would tell you Chris Redfield was a bit of a hot-head. Chris' anger had gotten him in trouble as often as it had saved his life. It sometimes blinded him to smarter ways of doing things, but that was when Chris' rage ran hot. Very rarely Chris' rage ran cold, as it was now. That was the anger Chris preferred to feel. It cleared his head, focused him, it made him calculating. So that was why he wanted to be left alone for now. Chris wanted to think back on the clues and work out the puzzle. Years of work doing investigations as first a S.T.A.R.S. then later as an Umbrella resistance member trying to expose a corporation that so closely guarded its secrets had made Chris very good at putting the pieces together.

Chris did not like how the pieces were fitting together now. He knew the others would like it even less so for now he kept his silence. He would walk them through it when they were ready to listen.

_Were we ever ready for things like this? We weren't ready for the Arklay mansion. We weren't ready for Raccoon City._

Jill entered the kitchen then. She looked tired and sad. Her eyes held unshed tears, but she wouldn't cry. Chris could count the number of times he had seen her cry on one hand and still have digits to spare.

_Be a man and comfort her Chris. _Chris remained seated however.

"Barry just called. He heard and asked if he could see us. He's a bit spooked like the rest of us," Jill tried to give him a small smile, but it was in no way sincere. "Leon also called Claire to check up on us. He's driving over already."

He just nodded.

His lack of speech only seemed to distress his partner more. Her lips normally pouty were drawn into a thin line and her forehead started to wrinkle. Like Chris, Jill preferred to keep all her emotion in and shed it when she was alone, or very rarely when Chris got her to let it out on him. Jill was tough, she was able to handle things that would have left others broken indefinitely. Today, though, he could see she needed him. Maybe it was because of the changes their relationship had been taking. Wordlessly Chris stood up a walked over to her, hugging her.

"Hey its going to be alright. We will make this alright," Chris moved his thumbs on her back, making light circles to help her relax as he held her.

"What was that thing," she asked in his embrace. "It was like no BOW I can remember hearing about."

"Something new," he said.

A knock at the door came. Jill extracted herself from his arms. It wasn't the time or the place for people to be finding out about them. They entered the living room together but seperately as Claire opened the door, revealing Barry Burton.

"That was fast," Jill commented.

"I was nearly here when I called. I just wasn't sure if you had gone to your place or Chris'," Barry told her.

Barry exchanged hugs and words of comfort with both Claire and Rebecca before heading over to Chris and Jill.

"How are you two holding up?" Barry asked in a concerned tone.

Jill smiled for him. "We'll be okay. It's just everything is still pretty raw."

"Thank you for checking on us all," Rebecca added, her voice was soft.

Barry waived it off. He looked as shell-shocked as the rest of them, but seemed unsure of what to say.

_There's nothing he can say to change anything._

Still Chris was grateful to the other man for his concern and company. They all stood for a moment in awkward silence.

The door opened again and Leon S. Kennedy stepped through nervously, a briefcase in his hand. "Hi, I saw Barry come in and figured I'd just let myself in," the newcomer said.

A second round of greetings and comfort words went around the room. When Leon reached Claire and gave Chris' sister a hug, the young man shot Chris a pointed look from over Claire's shoulder.

_Leon's not here to console anyone, he has information. Good. _Chris gave him a nod to let him know he understood.

Chris cleared his throat. "Leon, can I see you for a minute?" Chris started to walk back to the kitchen to give himself and Kennedy some privacy. The others might not be ready for whatever Leon had to say.

"Chris, what's going on?" Claire asked. His younger sister fixed him with a hard look, hands already on her hips. She must have somehow caught the subtleties of Leon and Chris' non-verbal exchange. All eyes turned to him. Barry and Rebecca wore their confusion on their faces, they had not caught on yet. Jill, though, was staring at Chris. She must have figured out Leon's arrival for what is was. She knew him too well for anything else.

"I asked Leon to do a bit of information gathering for me," Chris confessed.

"To what end?" Jill's voice was filled with mourning. Not just for the lives lost today. No, she had to be piecing together was Chris suspected.

"Why don't we all sit down at the table before we get into this?" he suggested. Rebecca and Barry had caught on their was more going on by now. Claire's glare told him she had too.

They all moved together, taking places at Chris' table. Quiet descended over the small gathering and Chris nodded for Leon to begin.

"After I heard about the bombing and the BOW attack at the BSAA headquarters, I called Chris to check on you both," Leon's eyes were on Chris' partner. "He asked me if I would do some checking down at the docks to see if I could dig up anything on the container that found its way to the BSAA storage house."

"And?" Rebecca asked.

"I didn't get much. I spoke to the captain of the ship who was supposed to have brought in the last shipment to the BSAA. He didn't have anything on the manifest resembling that container." Leon continued. "On a hunch I decided to try the airport. That turned up something. Apparently a shipment matching the container's description arrived on a cargo plane late last night and delivered to the BSAA complex early this morning around 5 AM."

"Did you find out where it came from?" Barry asked Leon, leaning forward in his chair.

"Yeah a small private airport out of Eastern Europe. The receipts didn't list which one since it was transferred to a larger airport so it could be flown across the Atlantic." Leon answered. "But that tells us the group that claimed responsibility for the attack aren't responsible."

"Someone claimed responsibility for the bombing?" Rebecca wanted to know.

"And how do we know they aren't responsible?" Claire demanded.

"A group called the Crimson Tigers claimed responsibility. That's the story the media has been running with all afternoon. The government is probably going to back that story, as for why they aren't responsible....." Leon trailed off. He gestured to Jill.

Jill nodded, "The Crimson Tigers are a small group of bio-terrorists in Asia Minor, who have used the threat of viral attacks to keep the local populace under their control. Your brother and I have had dealings with them in the past. So unless they have expanded their sphere of influence, getting a container out of Eastern Europe doesn't sound like them. They are small enough that they would want the credit and attention though," Jill explained to the group.

"Plus BOW you two fought was something we've never seen before so its unlikely they managed to develop something as complex as that," Leon added with glances to both Chris and Jill.

"Development? You think another pharmaceutical company is involved?" Rebecca almost seemed surprised. Almost, after so long she knew better.

"You've seen footage of it?" Chris asked suddenly.

"Yeah its been up all over the internet this morning," Leon acknowledged.

_There it is. The last piece of the puzzle falling into place. I'm sure of it now._

"What I don't get is why have a bomb if you're going attack the whole place with a monster like the one. It could have just as easily killed everyone without causing an explosion if it had the element of surprise." Barry asked himself.

Chris answered that. _It's time. _"The media," he said looking at each of the friends and family gathered before him in turn. "They wanted the media. Explode a bomb and suddenly you'll have cameras everywhere, as well as armed police officers since this could only be interpreted as a terrorist act. The perfect time to test a new BOW. You'll get footage of it being combat tested and you don't even have to be anywhere near it. The internet practically assures it."

Chris paused for a second. He wanted this to sink in. "Combat testing a new BOW against police officers while safely observing the results. Sound like anyone we know?" Chris' voice was quiet now.

And there it was. Each of their faces was struck with recognition of the point Chris was making. All but two. Leon, who Chris had already told his suspicions to, and Jill who had to have figured it out before Chris presented all the evidence to them. Chris looked as his partner. She looked angry and betrayed, though not by him. They had thought this was all behind them. That they would be able to move forward with their lives, leaving the ghosts of the past to finally rest.

_Doesn't seem we will ever get there, does it Jill?_

"Wesker! That son of bitch," Barry's voice shook with anger.

"How can that be? We have a confirmed kill by BSAA agents," Rebecca trying to hold on to the hope of denial that the nightmare hadn't returned.

"Did you ever think it funny that we found Spencer only thirty minutes from a BSAA sub-station?" Chris directed his question to his partner in answer.

"Rizzo," Jill said full of disgust, "he and his men had to be taking bribes from Spencer the whole time."

"Until they found some one willing to pay higher for the information in Wesker," Claire had all the pieces together now as well. Chris was proud, she would have made a good cop.

"That explains how a container from the BSAA Europe branch ended up carrying a bio-weapon," Leon acknowledged. There was something in the government agent's voice that told Chris he wasn't quite finished.

"Something else?" Chris asked him hurriedly.

"Yeah," the younger man nodded then reached for the briefcase he brought with him. Opening it, he threw a picture on the table. It was a picture with a very recognizable man wearing dark clothing and sunglasses walking next to an unknown beautiful woman who was dressed like a spoiled aristocrat. The time stamp was less than twenty-four hours ago.

"I received this from......an old acquaintance after the bombing," Leon explained. "She wants to met us. Her employers apparently want to make us an offer in regards to finding Wesker." He indicated Chris, Jill, and himself.

"Like hell your going alone," Chris' younger sister was fuming. "Damn it this concerns us all!" Even though she had given it up, Claire was as much a fighter as she was a nurturer by nature. Chris wasn't about to involve his sister in anymore of this however.

"Claire...." Chris started to raise his voice to match his siblings, when a hand came to rest atop his. Chris stopped and looked down to see Jill looking at him.

"They all go Chris," her voice was quiet, just as his had been earlier.

Chris looked at her, begging for her silent understanding that he needed to keep his sister out of this mess. His partner did not give it to him.

"The two of us weren't enough to stop Wesker last time. We barely got out alive. This time he will have support. We need everyone we can. We can't let this new bio-weapon get out." Jill told him. Her blue eyes were asking him for him to realize she wasn't doing this for any other reason than they truly did need everyone.

"Don't you trust your partner?" Jill asked finally.

Chris sighed, then looked up to the faces of his friends and family. They all wore the same expression of grim determination.

_I will make sure you all come back home alive. _Chris silently vowed to them. He turned to Leon.

"Leon, let your contact know we'll meet her." he said at last.

_And so it begins._


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic.

Jill

The sun was beginning to dip into the horizon when they set out. With the sun's departure so too left the heat of the day, and Jill shivered. It was not yet that cold out to warrant her reaction she knew. Yet ever since Chris and Jill had arrived at his apartment to wait for the arrival of their friends she had felt cold. Jill was sure that temperature had nothing to do with how she felt but rather had more to do with the chill blanket that had wrapped itself around her heart and mind in the wake of the days events.

There were too many of them to fit into one automobile, so Leon, Barry, and Rebecca set out in Leon's Toyota while Claire, Chris, and Jill piled into Chris' jeep. Jill had yielded the front seat to the younger Redfield, preferring to sit in the back to sort herself out. No one seemed to feel like talking so the only noises Jill could hear were those of the road, which were not loud enough to block out her own thoughts.

_Wesker, _her thoughts were bitter. _Why can't we ever be free of this nightmare?_

Her unspoken question went unanswered, leaving Jill with only a curse for fate and a jumble of emotions to deal with. Rage, anguish, betrayal, and frustration were churning through her body all at once leaving her angry and moody. Just when she had finally thought she was being rewarded for her struggles, when she finally thought the world was safe enough to turn her back she had found a dagger being stuck there. Jill should have known better, that was how the world worked. Instead of putting the ghosts of Raccoon City to rest they turned out to be with her all along and now there were more faces to go beside them. Jill closed her eye lids and in her mind's eye she saw the faces of her BSAA co-workers.

_Another wrong to avenge. Will they ever find peace? Will I?_

Jill sighed unintentionally. The noise caught the attention of the driver and Chris' eyes moved up from the road to the rear view mirror. Through the mirror their eyes met. Jill wanted to smile to reassure him, but she did nothing. Neither did he, and after a moment his eyes returned to the road and the flicker of lights of cars with their headlights on passing by on the opposite side of the road.

Jill could only hope her partner understood why she had argued to bring everyone along. Jill knew Chris. After so long working day to day by his side, she knew him better than maybe even Claire. She also knew that he would not endanger his sister or anyone else if he could. Jill, though understood that they need a team if they planned on bringing Wesker down once and for all. Their former Captain had soundly beat the two of them with hardly any effort on his part, and Jill held no illusions that a rematch would bring better results. Wesker was too fast and too strong for only the two of them. Even with the four extra bodies, Jill sincerely doubted that they could hope to stop the virus empowered madman, but at least the odds were better. Chris on the other hand, would have made excuses for them all to stay as far away from the fighting as possible. He would argue that Rebecca and Claire were no longer fighters and would hinder the mission even if it was untrue. Chris would tell Barry to stay home and not risk leaving his children without a father. If he could figure out some way to keep Jill home as well he would without a second thought. They both knew Chris would never be able to convince Jill to stay out of this however.

That was why Jill had struck quickly forcing Chris to realize the whole table was against him if he tried to count anyone out of this. Her partner was just trying to be a good man and a good brother but today all of them would need to be soldiers. The mission came first. Whatever that BOW the two of them fought this morning at the BSAA compound was, it was amazingly resilent. It had been sheer luck Jill had thought to use the car's gas tank. Bullets didn't seem to slow it down and if that type of creature was Wesker's new toy, they couldn't afford to waste whatever resources they had available to stop it. One good sized outbreak could spell disaster for the entire world.

Still Jill couldn't help but worry Chris would resent her for her actions.

_If he does, he'll have to get over it. _

Regardless the thought made a part of her sad. The part of her that had been happy at how she had woken up this morning, before the world decided to remind her it was a cruel place.

"Do either of you know anything about Leon's contact?" Jill decided she was tired of the quiet and wanted to be distracted from her thoughts.

Chris shook his head, without taking his eyes on the road. Jill's eyes narrowed. Chris had been far too quiet since they had heard about the bombing. She knew now that it was because he suspected Wesker had pulled the wool over their eyes by faking his death. Leon's photograph had confirmed those fears. Now though, Jill couldn't figure out what he was mulling over but she knew he was thinking hard about something.

"Other than it's a she. He didn't say anything else," Claire responded, with a hint of something she could quiet identify.

Jill turned her gaze to the younger Redfield. She was leaning her head on her hand while her arm was braced against the door window for support. Claire knew something or at least suspected something, of that Jill was confident. There had been a small tone of dislike in the red-head's voice. Was it because Claire was jealous? Or did Claire suspect it was someone she disliked? Of everyone in the group Chris and Claire had the most interaction with Leon S. Kennedy. Chris, because the two of them kept professional tabs on each others work. Claire, however typically met with the government agent once every few months or so to catch up ever since the incident at the Harvardville Airport had reunited them. Seeing as how Claire and Leon helped each other survive the fallout of Raccoon City as well as the at Harvardville, it was something Jill could understand. Surviving the horrors they had been through had way of making people cling on to one another for support.

Whatever it was Jill wasn't the only who had picked up on it. Jill could see even from the back of the jeep her partner's eyes darting to the side to study his sister. when the road allowed for it.

"Anything we should be aware of?" Chris asked his sibling after a moment.

Claire just glanced at her brother. "You know as much as I do." the young woman answered.

"Chris, Leon is getting off the highway." Jill noticed the other car had its turn lights on.

"I see," her partner acknowledged.

Chris followed as Leon exited and quickly got off the off ramp. Turning left, Leon was taking them into the industrial side of town.

_To one of the many abandoned warehouses no doubt._

Jill only needed to wait a minute more to see she was correct. Leon pulled up to a large and judging by its appearance, vacant warehouse. Chris pulled up along side and as one they all exited the two vehicles. A quick appraisal of everyone's face told her the sudden anxiety she was developing was mutual through out the group.

_I should have brought a gun._

Chris must have been thinking the same since she noticed his hand was resting unconsciously right above where his Beretta would be holstered on his leg.

"Lets get this over with." Jill heard Barry grumble.

"This way," Leon said and headed out leading the group into the large building.

As Jill passed through the frame of the door she saw the interior of the place was dark and empty, the windows were brown from the dirt that caked them. Even during the day they wouldn't let much light in. As they entered Rebecca, who was just in front of Jill, turned her head back catching Jill's eyes almost as if to ask if they should be doing this. Jill just ushered her through. They need to hear out Leon's contact, then they could decide whether or not this 'offer' was worth their consideration.

That's when Jill noticed the building was not completely empty after all. In the middle of the room was an elongated metal table on which sat a sole desk light, obviously they were new additions to the premises. Behind the table stood a woman in a red dinner dress with short black hair. She was beautiful, but Jill could tell even from the distance she was at that the smile on her face at their arrival wasn't a genuine one. The light from the table cast shadows across her face. Something about her meticulous appearance told Jill this woman was professional, exact, and deadly.

Claire seemed to tense as she saw the woman. "Some how I knew it would be you," the edge in Claire's voice said she apparently did know woman after all.

"Hello Claire," the woman replied, somehow sounding sincere but dismissive at the same time. The woman shifted her gaze and her smile became a little less frosty, "Hello Leon. I see you brought more along that what we originally agreed to."

"Everyone here is involved one way or another Ada. It couldn't be helped." the young man told her.

_Ada. Ada Wong? Ah now I know who she is._

Jill had read all about this Ada. Ada Wong was for all purposes a mercenary that worked for a rather illusive organization, which seemed to be a rival to the late-Umbrella. Little was known about Ada's employers but it was suspected they could be a unification of governments and pharmaceutical companies that had banded together for protection from the giant that Umbrella had been in the pharmaceutical world in the 1980s and 1990s. The organization held great interest procuring information about the development of new virus'. From Leon's report of his dealings in Spain, this Ada had assisted Leon in rescuing President Graham's daughter then later stole a sample of Las Plagas for her employers. She also Double crossed Wesker whom she must have been spying on for the organization the paid for her loyalties. She was not the type of person Jill would want to rely on. Jill couldn't bring herself to be comfortable around anyone who had worked for Wesker, even if they had been a double agent.

"So be it," the woman's eyes locked onto Chris' form and even though there was nothing behind it, Jill still felt herself stiffen. "Agent Redfield, I presume?"

Chris nodded. Her partner didn't seem as tense as Jill was feeling, but he had his poker face on so she couldn't be sure. It beyond annoyed Jill that after all these years working next to him, he could still hide behind it and leave her clueless as to his thoughts and intentions.

"A pleasure," Ada told him. "It is nice to at last meet the person Albert Wesker hates most in the world. I must admit you have become something of an interest piece in certain circles."

Chris remained silent for a moment before answering, "We can save introductions for later. We're here because as far as we've been told you have something to offer _us_."

_Good Chris, give her as little information as possible._

"Straight to the point, somehow I'm not surprised. Very well please come forward," the woman in red indicated the table in front of her. The woman's eyes traced the remaining members of the group. Jill figured Ada must be guessing their identities. Ada wasted no time on Jill, since if she knew who Chris was she would know who Jill was as well. Barry and Rebecca were the ones she eyed.

As she approached the table Jill saw, it was covered in satellite photos. The photos were all of the same location. Jill spotted two large office buildings surrounded by several large oil tanks. The entire area appeared gated off, with a small guard post but other than that it looked relatively unprotected.

"What is this? An oil depot?" Jill asked.

"On the surface, yes." Ada answered.

"And underneath?" Chris demanded impatiently.

"Underneath is a large TriCell R&D lab, where they are testing new BOWs like the one you encountered today," Ada supplied almost nonchalant.

"TriCell?" Claire blurted. "They were the ones to take over WilPharma."

"I should have known they were dirty," Leon seemed to be speaking to himself.

"But doesn't TriCell fund the BSAA?" Rebecca asked.

"They do more than just that it seems," Leon said bitterly.

Ada interrupted, "Yes this is a TriCell facility, but more specifically it is the first facility ever run by Excella Gionne. Whether or not the Tricell board members are aware of its current use is another matter all together."

"Excella Gionne?" Barry questioned her. The name wasn't familiar to Jill either.

"Gionne is the woman in the photograph I sent to Leon. She is related to the Travis family, the founders of TriCell, and thanks to Wesker's help has become quite influential in the corporation. This facility is the first R&D lab she was entrusted with by TriCell before her subsequent rise in the corporation. She has since turned it over to Wesker to be used as a BOW development lab. It is now the central biohazard lab." Ada supplied.

"For now?" Jill wasn't about to let that one go by.

Ada seemed to hesitate before answering. "Excella was recently promoted to CEO of TriCell Africa. My employer's believe there may be another lab in Africa but from what we can tell its not quite fully operational. Only a skeleton crew has transferred to Africa under Gionne's instructions and the funds have only started to flow to Africa so it appears their second lab is not up and running yet."

"How can you be sure?" Chris wanted to know.

"Simple. We have people in Wesker's organization, just as he as people in ours. We don't know why he's turned his attention to Africa but he has his sights set on it. For what purpose I can only speculate. For the time being however, this facility is being used to further his research." The woman in red acted almost smug.

"Defenses?" Leon asked. Both he, Barry, and Chris were hovering over the satellite scans. Their eyes were raking over everything they could see, analyzing and committing to memory. It was second nature for field agents, Jill had been doing the same thing without even noticing it herself.

"Plenty but I'm afraid that is as much as I can divulge at this juncture. I was briefed on very little," Ada told them. Her eye's made it plain that she knew the six other people in the room wouldn't like that answer, but not even a gun to her head would lead to more information. Her employers only supplied her with enough information to wet the small group's appetite for more.

"Ada, what are you play at? You told me you had information to offer us," Leon pulled his eyes away from the scans. He stared at his contact making his anger clear, his arms crossed before his chest while his eyes narrowed at Wong.

"I told you I had an _offer. _My employers would like to enter into a partnership, for lack of a better term, to end Wesker's life." Ada said the words as if proposing to refinance a loan. All business.

_Of course, there must be a catch or two._

"Why?" Claire demanded. The red-head seemed to be fuming at the direction this meeting was heading. Her hand's found her hips and she glared at the other woman as if Claire was planning on staring her down.

Barry came up behind the younger Redfield and put his arm on her shoulder, whether to get her to ease up or hold her back Jill wasn't sure.

_Don't worry Claire, you're not the only one who doesn't like how this is going._

Chris, had gone quiet again, his eyes were narrowed as he watched the woman intently as though measuring her. Jill wasn't sure what for. She shifted herself so she was standing next to him and put her hand of his arm to hold him back if he lost his temper.

Ada gauged the reactions of those around her before answering. "My employers view Albert Wesker as a threat and an out of control one at that. The BOW this morning proves it. Wesker has been very secretive over his own plans, I knew he wanted to resurrect Umbrella in some fashion, but for what end? Whatever it is, this new weapon must be Wesker's means to achieving his goals so doubt me if you want but no one here wants to see him win."

"What's the catch for the rest of the information?" Jill was tired of this song and dance. It was time to cut to the chase.

"I join your team. In return for accepting my help, you'll receive the location and all data pertaining to the lab." Ada responded.

"Why would you want to join us?" Chris clearly wasn't buying into it.

"The Organization wants to be sure Wesker stays dead this time. No insult intended." Wong gaze flickered between Jill and Chris. Jill had to refrain from grinding her teeth. "In addition we will provide these." The woman handed Chris another photograph.

Jill leaned over to see what it showed. The rest of the group followed her lead, craning to see what Wong was offering. After a moment, Chris put the picture down on the table so everyone could clearly see rather than trying to lean over his shoulder. On the picture was three identical syringes with some type of liquid in them. Jill wasn't sure what it was.

_It doesn't look like any of the viral agents I know. A performance enhancer? If she thinks we're going to inject ourselves with anything she gives us, she has another thing coming._

"What is it?" Claire finally asked.

The woman placed her hands on the table and leaned in, the shadows that had been cast across her face vanished as she got closer to the light allow Jill to finally see the woman clearly. For the first time since Jill had met the woman, Ada's smile was sincere.

"It's the cure for Wesker's version of the virus."

Jill's head shot up in shock, eye's wide.

_Did I hear that right?_

"What? How?" Jill couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice.

The dark haired woman's smile only grew deeper. "We discovered a lab that had been previously used by William Birkin, where much of the work for the Wesker virus was completed. These three samples were all that was left."

The room was dead silent. The only sounds were of passing cars outside. Everyone was processing what that meant. The meaning was explicit, no one wanted to save Wesker but if they could somehow inject him then the monster would go back to being just a man, rather than an impossibly fast and strong superhuman. A man was something Jill Valentine could deal with. A man was something that would answer to Jill's beretta. A man could be made to pay for his crimes.

Jill looked around and took in the others expressions. There was a palpable excitement in air. Jill could feel it, she could see it in the faces of her friends. They were all thinking the same thing. That is could be their shot to put an end to the nightmare once and for all.

_This is the weapon we've needed._

The room seemed to explode into multiple conversations at once. Jill didn't involve herself in any of it. Instead she chose to continue her examination of her friends to determine their thoughts on this offer.

One face gave her pause, though, as she surveyed the quick team that had suddenly been thrown together. It was the face Jill knew best of all. Chris' face was being obscured from Jill's vision by the shadows the lamp's light gave off, just as Ada's had been previously. He was slightly hunched over staring at the photograph with intensity. Jill could see his eyes however, she could see the dangerous glint that had taken up residence in his dark blue eyes. It was as if a sudden fever had hit him. She had seen that look enough to be able to identify it. It was the look Chris got when he became obsessed with some goal. It had been in his eyes for years after the fall of Raccoon City and here it was again. Chris was planning to see this through to the end, irregardless if the group of them rejected Ada's terms. He would do it alone if he had to, and if Jill knew him as well as she thought he would almost prefer it that way.

_Don't even think it Redfield._

Jill tightened her grip on his arm to the point it had to be causing him a bit of pain. She was right as after a moment, Chris turned his head toward her in confusion. That was when Jill started to stare him down with the worst stare she could manage. One that would say forget it, that she knew what he was thinking and in no way was his thoughts going to become a reality. Whatever else was happening between them, they were a team and that wasn't going to change. It was as cold a look as Jill had ever given him and one she had only been forced to use once or twice in their entire partnership, but one that said how deadly serious she was.

Chris met her gaze with that same confusion at first, but soon after it evaporated. He held her gaze and tried to silently communicate something to her, but Jill would have none of it. Jill had seen Chris fight nightmares given flesh, but he seldom had the strength to fight her. Perhaps it was because they seldom argued. They had been through too much together and knew each other too well to fight often. This though was something Jill wasn't about to yield on and after a moment the glint that marked Chris' eyes faded. He just nodded to her and Jill released her grip.

The others hadn't noticed the exchange, they were too busy talking amongst themselves.

Chris interrupted them, "Alright everyone, does anyone have any objections to Ms. Wong joining us?"

One by one Chris moved his gaze to each of the team members. No one said anything, Claire looked like she wanted to, but she held her tongue. Jill knew she would tell Chris her reservations in private. Ada had dangled the right carrot in front of this group, if no one was speaking up.

"Just don't cross us Ada. I've grown leery of being back stabbed," Leon was the only one to comment though not in protest.

"Don't worry Leon, I'll take good care of you." Ada replied. Jill thought she saw a small reaction in the other woman at Leon's words. Leon's remarks must have hit a sore spot.

Chris whirled on the woman in red then, a finger raised yet not quite in her face. His stance though was clearly hostile. "Good because I have terms of my own. Let me make sure this is absolutely clear. You have no say as to any decisions in this operation, you are going to follow orders. You are involved for information and combat support only. If you can't accept that leave. Now. And if you betray us......." Chris didn't have to finish his sentence, his meaning was transparent to all. Jill reinforced his point by giving a threatening smile.

Ada obviously did not like being threatened, but she nodded once to signal her compliance to Chris terms.

"Welcome to the team." No one missed the wryness in Jill's voice.

-------------------------------------------

Fatigue began to set in as Jill fumbled with her keys to open the door to her apartment. The sun had set some time ago, making it difficult to see the interior of her bag and in turn making her feel around blindly for her keys. The day had been a long and unpleasant one. Jill wanted to be glad that it was finally over and she could take some time to rest, but unfortunately life did not work that way. As tired as she was, Jill doubted she would find much sleep. Pillows and sheets would not be able to erase the horrible events of the day from her mind.

Jill couldn't help but sigh.

_Even if I managed to get some shut-eye I doubt the dreams awaiting me would be pleasant._

As Jill opened her front door, she was greeted with darkness. Flipping on the lights, she took a moment to examine the state of her apartment. It was exactly as she had left it this morning when Chris and her had run to his jeep after the call from Claire. The cups of coffee still lay on her kitchen table, the coffee pot was still mostly full but the heat had long since left the liquid the pot contained. Closing the door behind her, Jill saw the pans and plates she had used for dinner the night before. Unconsciously Jill felt her head turn toward the couch and saw the two empty wine glasses resting on the coffee table. The sight made her stomach tighten.

_How sad is it that the happiness I felt only last night feels like it occurred long ago?_

Suddenly Jill's apartment felt incredibly lonely.

Jill had loved her apartment from the minute she had moved in when she had started with the BSAA. The size of the apartment, while not huge, was really large for a one bedroom. Her living room and kitchen were the most spacious, which was where she spent most of her time when she was alone. The rent was affordable and she had a relatively small commute to work. All in all Jill was comfortable here, but today the apartment seemed empty and too big for just her. She needed company.

_Just relax Jill, you're just worked up over everything that happened today. Do a little cleaning and to get your mind off it, then hit the sack. It's been a long day._

Jill became keenly aware of the car keys in her hand. The decision was instantaneous and in no time the light's to Jill's apartment were off and she was locking the door behind her. Jill was tired of feeling alone. She knew she shouldn't but she needed company. A specific person's company.

_When did I become this dependent of him? _Her mind gave her the only answer to her question. A long time ago.

Jill could only suppose her mind was correct much to her annoyance. Jill had become dependent on her partner for more than mission objectives years ago. At first Chris had been just a partner and a nice guy. Then as they worked together he became someone she found could rely on, and after Chris became a friend. Sometime since the fall of Umbrella he had become her best friend and somehow the person that was always there. Jill acknowledged reluctantly, even to herself, that she had been dependent of Chris Redfield for a long time now. She had only been ignorant of exactly how much she had become. In many ways if she lost Chris, Jill knew it would be the worst thing she would have ever endured.

Still even as strongly as Jill felt she could help but think this was a bad idea. Leon and Claire were most likely still at Chris', so he would not be alone. She, Barry, and Rebecca had just left Chris apartment about half-an-hour ago after returning from their meeting with Ada Wong.

_Trusting Wong's employers now there is a worse idea._

Wong had asked for two days to receive all the intelligence her employers had on Wesker and his projects, not to mention the three syringes which could very easily turn the fight to the small group's favor. They had all agreed to meet again after that to begin planning the assault. Jill had her reservations about both Wong and her illusive employers. Every did. Once Wong had left, everyone had made some question as to whether they were making the right decision. Dealing with Wong's employers unfortunately seemed to be their best bet. Even if the group managed to locate and confront Wesker, Jill doubted numbers would grant victory. Wesker was just too powerful so the team would have to make a deal with what Jill hoped was the lesser evil.

The short drive to Chris' apartment was one Jill had done too many time to count. Tonight however the drive seemed to take much longer than it normally did, which was odd since there was little traffic and she knew she was making good time. Tricks of the mind.

As Jill parked outside Chris' apartment building she saw Claire's car still sitting on the opposite side of the street, but she did not see Kennedy's. The sight made her hesitate for a second. Jill got along with Claire just fine. Aside from Rebecca, the younger Redfield was perhaps Jill's closest female friend. Jill was often included in many of the get togethers the two Redfields engaged in, so over the years Jill had gotten to know Claire exceptionally well and vice versa. Still she did not want to intrude upon them if they were doing some family bonding.

_Too late you already came all the way over here._

Jill got out of her car and headed towards Chris' unit. Following the light posts outside each unit she worked her way through the path that led to the apartment she began to hear voices. Two very familiar voices. Jill smiled to herself, the Redfields were clearly having a loud discussion about something. Jill could only shake her head. Chris and Claire were the two most stubborn people she knew and whenever they bumped heads it was wise to be elsewhere.

_Might as well eavesdrop a little. _Actually Jill figured it couldn't quite be called eavesdropping if all the adjacent apartments could overhear. She stopped just outside Chris' door.

"Oh and you think we can trust this woman? Chris, even Leon admits she's never been completely honest with him!" That was definitely Claire.

"I didn't say I trusted her! I said we need her! We won't even have an operation if we don't have any intel to go off of!" Chris' voice was equal parts frustration and patience. Jill figured this wasn't the first time Claire and Chris had argued about this since her departure not even an hour ago. "Not to mention the cure."

"That's right the cure! How could I forget. The cure we have no way of knowing if it actually works! She probably gave you a picture of colored water in some syringes just because her bosses knew you'd do just about anything to get at Wesker!" Claire's tone was drenched in enough sarcasm that Jill had to wince.

"Unless you have a better idea, then I suggest you start hoping that colored water does the trick!"

Jill decided that perhaps it might be best to intervene, before either one of them got out of hand. _Further proof I'm going insane. Item One: I kissed my partner of a decade. Item Two: I actually thought my nightmares were end. And finally, Item Three: I'm getting in the middle of a Redfield shouting match._

Jill brought her fist to the door and pounded three quick times. After a second the door open revealing a slightly surprised Claire Redfield.

"Jill?"

"Expecting the landlord?" Jill asked dryly.

The younger woman flushed, if only a little, "Where we going at it that loud?" Claire's volume had noticeably dropped by several decibels.

Jill gave her a playful smile, "Let's just hope Wesker doesn't have spies in the building."

"Har har," Claire moved aside and opened the door wider to let Jill in. As Jill crossed into the apartment she saw Chris wearing the same slightly surprised look at her presence. Chris was at the far end of the apartment near the door to his room. He was still dressed in the clothes he had worn to her place last night, though now it was covered in grime and sweat from the battle this morning. He must have not gotten the opportunity to change yet. Sure Claire couldn't see, she gave him a shy smile which he returned. Their eyes met and Jill found herself being forced to actually find the willpower to look away so she could turn back to Claire. It would not be smart to have Claire witness one of their lingering looks.

"So I take it I'm not interrupting family bonding time?" Jill quipped.

"Hardly. What are you doing here Jill? Did you forget something?" Chris asked her.

_What? Wanting to see you isn't a good enough reason anymore? _Jill knew Chris meant nothing with his questions, his patience must be wearing thin if all he and Claire had been doing the last hour was repeating the same fight. Still Jill had hoped for a warmer welcome.

"Honestly I really just wanted some company," Jill confessed. She let her playful act dissipate.

Her words caused similar reactions in both siblings. Claire reached out and squeezed her arm, Chris' expression noticeably softened. While Chris and Claire had each other, Jill had lost all her family. Truth be told the people in this room were the closest Jill Valentine figured she would ever get to having a family again. It was an old pain, one Jill had gotten used to along time ago. The two Redfields were more than aware of that fact. Since Dick Valentine's passing, Chris had gone out of his way to make sure Jill was invited to any holiday when the Redfields got together. Even when the two of them were out of country on an assignment Chris, had always managed to sneak a present into her travel bag for the big holiday's or her birthday. It was sweet of him and he had never once mentioned how he did it. In fact he had never mentioned even getting her a gift. It was typical Chris, showing he cared but never actually speaking of it.

"I was actually about to leave, but I can stay." Claire offered sincerely. "You know my brother can be poor company." The red-head shot her brother a look to let him know she was joking.

"I've gotten used it," Jill replied.

Chris only gave them both a look of resentment.

"It's fine Claire. We'll see each other tomorrow. Besides I need to talk logistics to your brother." Jill told the other woman.

"While you're at it, you could try talking sense into him." Claire gave her a wink only Jill would be able to see. Jill could only smirk in response, Claire loved to egg her brother on. Jill usually did her best to stay out of it, but she normally took a few shots at Chris' expense before leaving the rest to his sister. Today, Jill figured with the events and tension of the last twenty four hours it was best to let those opportunities go by. Plus with the memories she had just thought of in regards to the holidays, she decided to go easy on him.

"No promises."

Claire put on a false expression of disappointment and bid both her and Chris goodnight. The brother and sister exchanged a heartfelt hug and if Jill had not known them she would have guessed that it was two completely different people she had overheard fighting. Even when their tempers were at their hottest they never took it personally. Claire and Chris probably fought just as a way to vent their frustrations. With a wave and a closing door Claire was gone, leaving the two partners alone.

Jill turned back to take a look at her partner. Chris looked tense and as tired as Jill herself felt. He seemed slightly distracted as his brow was furrowed in thought.

"Are you okay?" She asked him.

Chris snapped out of his own thoughts, "Yeah, thanks. How about you?"

"I've had better days."

"Copy that," Chris put on his lopsided smile for her benefit. He was trying to lift her spirits.

The two of them stood there for a moment in silence. Jill couldn't think of anything to say and apparently Chris similarly stumped. It was awkward without being overly so. Small talk just to avoid silence was something that Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield rarely engaged in. She could ask him about his thoughts on the upcoming operation, but they didn't have much to discuss that they had not already gone over. Jill didn't want to talk about the bombing, she wanted to lock that pain away until she could bring the victims justice. Jill could ask him about what was going to happen between the two of them with the changes the day had brought, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer.

Chris' voice brought her out of her reflection. "Do you mind if I jump in the shower? I'd like to get all this dirt off me."

Jill shook her head, "No that's a good idea. I didn't want to tell you but you smell a little." It was small jab to break the tension.

"Well you aren't roses yourself right now. Did you want to jump ahead of me?" Chris asked.

It actually wasn't a bad idea, Jill hadn't showered since yesterday and nice long shower would probably do wonders for her physically and mentally.

"First, I have nothing to wear but this," Jill motioned to the clothes she was wearing. "And second, a smart guy never tells his girlfriend she stinks. A woman likes to feel attractive." she joked.

Chris crossed the distance between them and placed his hands on her hips, Jill had to tilt her head up to look him in the eyes. He was still wearing that same grin. "Jill, I've seen you covered in gore and thought you were attractive."

"Okay, at least that was equal parts sweet and gross." Jill stood on her toes then wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss was long and slow. It seemed to push away the toil of negative emotions that had hung from her shoulders the majority of the day. When they pulled away, she saw it had a similar effect on Chris. It was what the both need, she knew, to pretend the world hadn't just turned their world upside down.

"I've got some old clothes that you can wear. They don't fit me anymore so they shouldn't be as big on you." Chris offered.

Jill stared at his face. "What's going to happen between us after everything?" Jill wanted to take the words back as soon as they left her mouth. She didn't want to know, but if she was honest with herself part of the reason she had come was to see how he would react to her in private after learning Wesker was still alive and that their work was not yet finished.

Chris' face seemed to be a little stiffer as he answered. "I don't know. We have to stop Wesker, once that's done we can see where this goes."

It was the answer Jill had expected. Chris was on a mission from the moment Claire had called this morning. That meant he wouldn't rest until Wesker was gone and though Jill wouldn't either, they had been hunting Wesker for years and he was still out there.

"And what if it takes the better part of another decade before we finally finish him? He's gotten away before. Even if the cure works, we might not be able to inject him. He's too fast." Jill's voice let some of the inner turmoil she felt escape.

Understanding came into Chris' eyes. Jill had not wanted to ask but if this wasn't going to go anywhere it would be best to cut it off now and save their friendship. Chris Redfield was the most important person in the world to her whether her significant other or not. Jill did not want to resent him by being force to wait if Wesker managed to elude them again. Jill would rather put a stop to it then wait for the unlikely.

Chris was silent a moment, she could tell he was trying to pick his words carefully. "I won't be able to let him get away. There's too much he has to answer for, but if he does escape us this time.....well that doesn't mean we have to wait on exploring this."

A small flame of hope burst into life in Jill's heart. "You mean it?" she asked, suddenly breathless.

Chris' blue eyes held nothing but affection for her. "Yeah I mean it." He loosened his grip on her. "Go ahead shower, I'll put the clothes on the sink."

"Trying to sneak a peek Agent Redfield?" Jill could resist the tease. His answer had taken away some of her worries leaving her in a good of mood as was possible given the circumstances.

Chris must have caught that in her expression. "No, I have it on good authority I smell right now." Chris' voice was light and a red tint started to appear on either side of his face.

_He's tempted. Imagine that, I've managed to get him to blush twice in two days._

Jill just laughed at him. She took off towards Chris' shower, but looked back once or twice at him to watch him as he got her the old clothes and a towel. She felt better. Jill couldn't help but think to herself that even on the worse days of her life, somehow Chris Redfield managed to make her feel better. So long as she had him Jill knew she would be able to handle the unpleasant surprises in life.

"Do you mind if I stay over?" She called out as she turned on the hot water.

"Are you going to behave yourself or should I sleep on the couch to preserve my virtue?" a muffled voice teased back.

Jill rolled her eyes, then felt the water. "Virtue? Chris, really that's stretching it." The temperature was just right.

The door opened and Chris put the clothes and towel on the sink next to her. He held up his hands innocently, "We don't have to wait if you don't want." He grabbed the counter and tried to shake it as though testing its sturdiness.

_Why you little!_

Jill smacked him on the shoulder, even though she could tell he was kidding.

"Alright partner, time for you to get out." Jill smiled to let him know she knew he wasn't serious.

Even as Chris closed the door behind him, the smile didn't leave Jill's face for some time.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic.

Chris: Several Days Later

As Chris Redfield closed the door leading from the cockpit to the fuselage he was plunged into near darkness. He took a moment to allow his eyes adjust to the lack of light. After a few seconds Chris' eyes began to make out details of his surroundings and he started moving again albeit more slowly. The area of the fuselage he was in was literally stuffed with cargo. Crates of various sizes and shapes were stacked upon each other in two rows to Chris' right and left. Netting had been draped over the packages to secure them in place should the aircraft encounter turbulence and between the two rows was a small path that led back towards the tail section of the cargo plane and Chris' companions.

Chris hesitated, he had decided to rejoin his friends after spending the last three hours in the cockpit raking his eyes over all the schematics and plans Ada Wong see if he needed to make an adjustments to the plans he had been formulating in regards to the assault on Wesker's lab. In truth he didn't have to make any changes and he hadn't expected to, but figured he might as well go over everything he had worked out in his mind over the past few days. Plus the flight was extraordinarily long and he had needed a change of surroundings. As a former pilot, the captain had graciously invited Chris to the cockpit so the crew and he could talk planes. It was something Chris seldom got to do anymore, and he had enjoyed being able to tell stories from his Air Force days to people that could appreciate the story. It had been a pleasant break from the stress that had worked its way into his life over the course of the past few days.

Chris and his group had managed to book themselves as passengers aboard a transatlantic cargo plane to help hide their movements. Chris honestly didn't believe that Wesker tracked their movements, the man could have shown up a thousand times at Chris' apartment and ended the enmity between them easily but he never had. Wesker viewed Chris and the rest of the BSAA as a pest not a significant threat, but even so Chris decided not to risk it should Wesker's men flag that 4 former S.T.A.R.S. arrived in country not long after the bombing. Wesker would know Chris was on to him if that was the case. So instead Chris had worked a deal with the aircraft's captain to fly seven passengers and their cargo into Italy, no questions asked. Unfortunately the aircraft itself was an old retrofitted Douglas C-54 Skymaster that had first seen use back in the 1940's so it was slow and required a few stops to make it across the ocean. Seven highly tense people stuck together in a tight space with uncomfortable seats for hours on end didn't relieve anxiety. Still if the managed to catch Wesker unaware it would be worth it. Additionally this way they had been able to bring their weapons, which they would otherwise would have been forced to leave behind if they wanted to avoid attention. The captain had to think they were mercenaries, but the man had stuck to his word and let them pack their firepower so long as everything was sealed away for the flight.

Chris peered down the small aisle between the crates to see if he could see any lights from that end of the aircraft. He could not. The sun had set four hours ago and by Chris' calculations they most likely had another four hours of flight time before they set down in Italy at the speed they were traveling. Apparently someone had decided it would be better to catch a wink or two.

Chris started down back towards the end of the plane, he luckily didn't have to worry about being too quiet as the drone of the engines masked his steps on the metal flooring for the most part. As he reached the other section of the plane, Chris saw his guess was right on. Everyone was slumped in their sleep obviously out cold. The aircraft's passenger seating wasn't like an airliners but instead was more that of a military aircraft where the handful of passengers sat facing one another, similar to any aircraft where soldiers would parachute out off. Barry was rhythmically snoring with the churn of the engines. Ada was on the opposite side of him with her head leaning against the side of the aircraft's metal wall. Next to her was Kennedy with his own head leaning back resting against the metal headrest. Claire was sleeping on Leon's shoulder on his other side. That sight made Chris pause uncomfortably. Chris didn't know what, if anything, was going on there. He was fairly confident nothing was currently happening between the two of them. While they had remained in contact, Claire and Leon seldom saw one another and Chris had never seen either of them look at the other in that way. Regardless the position reminded him too much of Jill and himself. Had someone found him and Jill in such a position two weeks ago, Chris would have honestly shrugged it off as nothing if anyone had asked. Something could very well being growing beneath the surface that neither Claire nor Leon even knew of right now, it had certainly happened that way for Chris and Jill.

_Is Claire as ignorant as I am of her feelings or is really just nothing but friends?_

Of course there was another explanation. Chris had seen the way Ada flirted with Leon over the past few days as no doubt everyone had. Chris wouldn't put it past Claire to be doing it just to piss the other woman off and get under her skin. If that was the case Chris would have to laugh. Claire had a very bad cruel streak no one with sense would want directed at them. She seldom used it but when she did Claire would make it hurt. Whatever it was Claire was old enough to make her own decisions and she didn't need Chris to be playing the part of the over-protective brother.

Chris turned his head towards the last occupant, Jill. Her head was resting on her arm which she had draped behind neck to support it. Her legs had found their way into the seat Chris had vacated hours ago. Chris let his eyes enjoy her features. Her lips rather than in their natural pout had curved slightly upwards, she had to be dreaming. Asleep she was still as beautiful as when she smiled at him. The sight of her tugged at his heart strings.

Over the last few days they had virtually no time alone together. Jill had spent the night over at his place the night of the bombing, after asking for company. Since then however, they had been busy during the day going over the intel Ada provided to formulate a plan of attack and then putting together the supplies they would need to get the mission off the ground. Claire had started to stay over at Chris' apartment so she didn't have to drive back to the city every night and back so they could make their plans. Jill stayed as late was appropriate but eventually she always left to go back to her residence leaving Chris and Claire alone. Neither Jill nor Chris felt like sharing or explaining what had started going on between the two of them. They were awkward enough around each other, trying to meld this new facet of their relationship onto the ten years of friendship and camaraderie that defined their partnership without having to answer prying questions. Given that fact, Chris hadn't managed to share any private time with Jill over the past few days and he doubted that would change once they arrived in Europe to finalize the last details of the mission.

_No, we will have to wait until we comeback._

Chris was hopeful however. Though they hadn't managed to get any alone time to talk Chris had seen a change in Jill. Even with all the dread of hanging over the small group, Jill at moments seemed genuinely happy. Chris had caught her smiling to herself more than once when she thought no one would notice.

_It's probably her thinking about evening the score with Wesker. I don't think I'd have that much pull with her even on my deathbed._

Somehow Chris doubted his thoughts were the truth. Even after all this time the woman was an enigma to Chris, but Jill Valentine could have left this line of work years ago and never had even mentioned leaving once. Chris knew it was because of the type of the person she was. Jill wasn't one to leave behind unfinished business. Still maybe she had another reason for staying at his side all these years and not pursuing another life. Conceited as it sounded, Chris was beginning to think he might have had something to do with it. The thought floored him every time he thought it, and every time he told himself it wasn't true. However when he though back to the kisses they shared, he had a hard time convincing himself.

Since the night Jill had first kissed him, Chris had been awed by the emotion that poured out between them every time they had touched since. Thinking back on that first kiss made him smile. The shared hesitancy then the tenderness. Chris hadn't know what to think then. He had been confused and shocked, but on some level Chris wanted it and always had. Jill just had been the first to act on it. Ever since that moment, whenever they touched Chris felt the spark that they had quietly ignored for years had turned into a lightning storm.

"It's not polite to stare Chris." a familiar voice said coyly, just barely over the noise of the engines.

Chris startled. He turned around and saw Rebecca smiling in such a way, that Chris knew it was trouble.

"What? What are you talking about?" Chris wasn't sure if he stammered a little. His face felt hot. _Damn it! How did I not notice she wasn't with everyone else?_

Rebecca didn't even bother to give him a look to let him know she knew he was lying. She just kept smiling and motioned him to follow her. Chris silently complied as Rebecca led him back towards the cockpit. Before she got there though Rebecca turned left in between a group a crates. Chris saw some crates she had arranged to serve as a makeshift desk and chair. On the larger crate was her laptop with a small attachable light gripping the computer. It gave off little light but enough for Chris to see that the laptop shared the desk with a number of folders.

"What's all this?" he questioned.

"Oh, before we left I got copies of everyone's medical histories so I could put them in my labtop just in case anyone was incapacitated during the operation and I needed to know their history for treatment." Rebecca answered.

It made sense. That was Rebecca always making sure she knew the in and outs of her patients....or potential patients in this case. Given that she wouldn't have access to any of their medical history in the field, it made sense to go over everything beforehand. It could end up saving some one's life.

"Good call. How did you get Wong's?" Chris replied.

"I should have said everyone but hers," Rebecca looked at him with exasperation.

Chris nodded, he would have been surprised if their mysterious partner had ponied up any personal information even if it could potentially be life saving. People in Ada's line of work didn't live long by trusting people.

"Does Jill know?" Rebecca was back sitting at her self made station, her voice almost nonchalant. Though her head was directed at the computer, the slight glare the screen and the light gave off blurred his now dark accustomed eyes so he couldn't tell where Rebecca's eyes were looking. Chris would have bet big they were locked on his face however.

"Know what?" Chris doubted the ignorance game would work, but he didn't have much else to fall back on.

"Don't play dumb, Chris. You're in love with her." It wasn't a question.

"Rebecca, Jill is my _partner."_ Chris emphasized the word strongly.

Chris did love Jill, he had for years and would die for her without a regret. Being in love, however, was a different beast entirely and he wasn't sure he could go that far yet. Chris couldn't deny the strong emotions that ran between them, but they hadn't had enough time for either of them to process exactly what those emotions were. Even if he was in love with Jill Valentine, Chris wasn't about to let Rebecca be the first in on it. Rebecca was a good friend but as Chris saw it either Claire or Jill should be the first to know......after himself of course. That meant denial.

"Come off it Chris. I've always wondered, but now I know. For years you two share these long looks, private smiles, and neither of you ever look at a member of the opposite sex. Then I find you looking at her like she's the love of your life. So that leaves you playing dumb or you are sincerely dumb. I hope for your sake it's the former." Rebecca had her physician's tone on. The tone she used whenever Chris lied to her about how bad he was hurt and she knew it. It was tone that demanded answers.

_What happened to the shy girl I saved in the mansion all those years ago? If she's still around her rescuer would like to be saved right about now._

"Rebecca, you haven't been out of the field long enough to forget that bond that develops between two people surviving the horrors we fight. Well Jill and I have been partners for a long time. She knows me better than even my own sister. It's hard for even friends to understand, but try explaining it to some one you just start dating. It never works, eventually they just get jealous. Jill and I came to that conclusion along time ago which is why we don't bother looking for dates, especially considering our line of work it's just a waste of time." The lie flowed off Chris' lips easily. There was enough truth in there to make it convincing. After all it was a lie he had even gotten himself to believe for years.

Rebecca seemed distant for a second, she appeared lost in her own thoughts and memories. Only for a second though then she smiled slightly.

"Yeah Chris, I remember what its like. That's why I don't believe you. If it's with someone special that bond can be as strong as anything." Rebecca's voice was quiet and Chris had to strain his ears to hear her. Chris could tell there was a story there, but now wasn't the time to ask. Rebecca patted the the spot on the crate next to her, inviting him to sit with her. Chris slid into the makeshift seat and leaned forward his elbows on his legs, hands holding his head.

"So does she know you love her?" This time the question was asked as one friend to other, the physician's tone was gone. It was two old friends talking, two old comrades.

Chris sighed. "Jill and I leave a lot of things unsaid. She knows I care." He ran his hand through his hair.

_I may have been playing dumb Rebecca but since I just told you that....well the answer to your question is definitely the later._

Rebecca's slight smile grew a little larger. "Are you......together?" she trailed off looking a little embarrassed.

Chris turned his head to give the young woman a look. _It looks like some of the shy girl remains in the doctor after all. _There however was more than curiosity in the question, Chris could feel it. The wheels were turning in Rebecca's head, that much was plain.

"In a manner of speaking, we only managed one date so far. Why? Did Jill say something to you?" Chris asked flatly.

It was Rebecca's turn to hesitate. The woman paused choosing her words. "Not exactly, she did tell me she wanted to start dating and have a life outside of work." Rebecca was leaving something out again. The young woman was by all standards brilliant. She understand science and medicine to a degree which Chris knew he could never even approach, but she was a horrible liar if you knew her well enough. Even if she was only omitting facts the signs were there.

"Oh, I guess I was the nearest available guy." Chris said wryly.

Rebecca looked at him like she was considering smacking him. "You know that's not true."

"Do I? You seem to have a better idea than I so why don't you fill me in?" Chris turned his head to look straight into his friend's eyes. Chris' curiosity had the better of him and if Rebecca knew something he wanted to know.

"I don't know how she puts with you," Rebecca told him, the lightness in her voice let him know she wasn't serious.

"It's still new, give her time." Chris deadpanned.

At least that evoked a small laugh from the good doctor. Rebecca shook her head at him, before becoming serious again. The seriousness of her expression was of course off set by the smile she gave him. "Chris, in all honesty I'm surprised this hasn't happened sooner. When we first came back from the mansion and I was really beginning to know the two of you I could see it. You and Jill always communicated on different level than anyone. I thought at first it was because you two were partners, but that didn't explain it since no else in the RPD was near as close as you two."

"What can't a man and woman be close and not be involved?" Chris realized what he had said only after the words escaped his mouth. He hadn't meant to say that, but old habits and denials were tough to break apparently. Especially when they had become second nature.

"Of course they can. It's just you were always so....I don't know how to describe it but acutely aware of the other will have to do. I've seen Jill just _know_ when you're around even if she couldn't see or hear you. I've seen you two look at each other and everybody else just seems to get ignored. You both fooled everyone into thinking everything was completely platonic because neither of you wanted to upset the friendship and take a risk. Irregardless ask anyone of us who is the woman in your life or the man in Jill's and you'll have your answer. Just because you two haven't been doing anything about it doesn't mean you aren't that person for each other." Rebecca spelled it out for him.

Chris for some reason felt the heat returning to his cheeks. _We aren't really like that, are we? Jill and I are as down to Earth as it gets. _

"We don't ignore anyone." Chris decided he should at least try to defend himself.

"Yes, you do." the response was a statement of fact. It didn't leave him room for argument. "Chris, I know you both have been through a lot. Isn't it better to know you have someone there for you?" Rebecca asked him.

The question was rhetorical but Chris felt compelled to answer anyway. "That's just the thing, Jill had always been there even for me and I've was there for her before anything changed between us."

"That's why I think you are good for one another." Rebecca told him only barely above the engines. She moved her head over towards the cockpit and then nodded as she mouthed the word 'bathroom.'

Chris gave her a laugh and nodded. "We'll finish this talk later, just keep it to yourself okay?"

"Fine, but think about what I've said," Rebecca kept her eye on him until he agreed.

As Rebecca left him, Chris turned his attention to the file copies Rebecca had been sorting through and taking notes on her laptop. Chris was surprised that anyone kept paper copies anymore. He was no medical professional but Chris knew enough to know that most hospital records were now exclusively stored on computer. Rebecca would have had to have printed this out from the locations that held each group member's most complete medical history. Knowing Rebecca Chambers however she had complied most of that information long before the BSAA was even formed, and only subsequently updated it upon an incident. Chris knew that was what she had done with his files.

Chris figured since he was alone he might as well go through his old health file for laughs. He wouldn't be surprised if Rebecca had written 'chronic stubbornness' over half his exams. Reaching out Chris grabbed the largest file, which dwarfed the other files easily, that one had to be his. Smirking to himself ruefully Chris open the file and was immediately confused. 115 lbs? What? He shot a look at the files label even though there was only one person it could be. In black typed font the answer greeted him - J. Valentine. A quick search and Chris saw his own file. While it was the second largest, Jill's file had him soundly beat.

_Why the hell is Jill's file so much larger than mine?_

Though Chris wasn't proud to admit it, of the two of them, Jill was by far the more conservative partner. For a 115 lbs woman it made sense to take a few more precautions. While Jill was very good at martial arts, Chris was too and he had strength on his side. Chris had gotten in the habit of walking just a head of his partner while on missions. Blame it on being protective or old pointman instincts Chris would rather be the one who would have to wrestle off a zombie if necessary. That instinct tended to lead to more injuries. For the life of him Chris couldn't figure out why Jill's would be so much larger. He suddenly felt nervous, Jill had to be okay. She would tell him if something was wrong.

_Probably just women's issues. Leave it alone Chris._

Chris Redfield had always been bad at taking his own advice. If the file had belonged to anyone other than Jill or Claire, Chris would have put it aside without a second thought. Jill and his sister though, were two people Chris would never be able not worry about if something seemed wrong. He opened the file and scanned through the contents. Most of the files were old blood work paper work. Every BSAA agent was required to get regular blood work done considering the risks in their line of work. So while the papers weren't surprising at all, the frequency of them definitely were. As far as Chris could tell, Jill had gone for blood work screening about once a month in addition to the mandatory ones for the BSAA.

_Somethings going on and I don't like it._

Had Jill developed a compulsive disorder to getting her blood work done? Chris had heard odd stories about bioterrorism survivors and BSAA agents developing odd habits as a break down caused by the stress and trauma. Terrence Drogger back at the North American branch had been found to be intentionally burning his skin anytime he received a cut so he couldn't get infected as he claimed. Ironically enough one of those burns got infected with some good old bacteria and he was forced to take leave and a psychiatric evaluation. Was Jill going through a similar if less sever situation? Now Chris felt like an ass. Not only was he going through his partner's personal information but he hadn't even noticed something might be wrong with her.

_Why wouldn't Rebecca have told me? Did Jill swear her to secrecy?_

That was when he saw it. Dated back before the BSAA even existed on a old white print out, where the ink had long since started to fade, Chris Redfield's worst fears exploded from the back of his subconscious to plant themselves firmly into reality with one line.

T-Virus Test: Positive.

Chris' hand shook and he put the sheet down. Feverishly he started running through the older tests. It had to be a fluke or a prank some one had played on her. His hopes were dashed time and time again as his search kept finding one word he now hated even worse than his hate for Wesker. Positive.

Emotions seemed to roll through him in waves. Chris felt anger, betrayal, and above all - scared. Violently he shoved the papers back into Jill's file and placed it back where he had found it. Without any conscious thought Chris moved away from Rebecca's makeshift station and began to pace. The aircraft seemed to have gotten so much smaller in an instant. Chris ran his hands through his hair as he tried to slow his thoughts and calm his breathing. He had little luck with either.

_How did it happen? Why did she never tell me? I never hid anything from you Jill, why did you hide this from me? Did you think I couldn't handle it? Or that I would despise you?_

A million questions ran through Chris' mind. Above all else he wanted to be able to go for a walk to clear his head. As he was right now, Chris had half-a-mind to rush over and wake Jill up to demand answers. Chris never thought she would hide something from him, especially not something like this. The current tests all said negative, how could that be? Was Rebecca helping hide Jill's condition from the BSAA? People didn't just suddenly get better from the T-Virus. Sure Chris had heard the rumors and stories of a cure, Claire herself had said something on it once, but nothing had ever come of it beyond the rumors. It meant Jill had been actively hiding it from the BSAA and from him.

Chris had heard of experimental treatments developed by joint venture of several of the pharmaceutical companies that allowed an infected person, who was helped quick enough, to fight the infection. The person would always be infected and would have to be careful not to infect others but the treatment would grant a more or less normal lifespan to the patient. Chris had never met such a person but now he feared he had known one all along.

_My God, Not Jill. Please not Jill._

"Chris, are you okay?" a voiced called from behind him.

Chris turned and faced Rebecca who was watching him with her forehead scrunched up in confusion and perhaps a touch of concern.

_She must have seen me pacing like a caged animal._

Chris plastered the best fake smile he could on his face. "Yeah, fine. I just need to make some preparations before landing."

Without another word he brushed past his friend, ignoring both her worried look and the churning in his own stomach.

_Keep your priorities straight Redfield, the mission comes first. Once you've dealt with Wesker, then you can figure out what's going on with Jill._

Thoughts of his former captain were enough to stroke the embers of rage in Chris' heart, although this time it lacked its usual fire. Even Wesker couldn't override his near panic. Chris tried to channel his chaotic feelings towards being productive. Chris headed back towards the cockpit, breathing deep and slowing his heart. He would go over his plans for the assault again. Chris was unsure of a lot of things in his life right now but the one thing he was sure of was, even if it cost him his life, Albert Wesker was a dead man. He would see to it.

_Thats it Chris, keep focused. Don't think about it. You can do it._

As Chris opened the door back to the cockpit and wordlessly sat down in the seat he had vacated not long before, he pulled out the plans he had devised once again. Chris sat there for the remainder of the flight, allowing his agitated emotions to consume themselves in quiet.

_Push it all aside Chris. You have a job to do and you need to see it through._

He wouldn't confront Jill or Rebecca about it. No, that was their secret. Jill didn't want him to know so he would act as though he knew nothing. At least until the mission was completed. The mission was what was most important. Chris could keep himself together for that long, then he could find his answers.

_Its okay Chris. Jill is okay. This will end up being nothing._

Chris Redfield was good at lying to himself.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic.

Jill

The wind whipped across her face sending her brown hair trailing behind her, as Jill kept her eyes on the jeep, identical to the one she was driving, maneuvered on the road slightly ahead of her. The breeze was welcome after the long hours stuck in the airplane that had transported them to Italy. The two jeeps moved swiftly through the winding roads of the hills near this portion of the Italian coast. A quick turn of her head and the Mediterranean Sea took her breathe away.

_Now I wish I hadn't offered to drive. It would be nice to take in the view._

Wishful thinking. Jill turned her head back to the road. She didn't know exactly where they were going and she didn't want Ada, who was driving the other jeep, getting too far ahead of her. In fact all Jill knew was Ada claimed to have a excellent location somewhere in the hills that would serve as a base where they could prepare for the upcoming operation. Wesker's lab was located just off the coast of Italy on Elba Island. Years ago TriCell, using a shell company, had apparently purchased several of the resorts that had dotted the island and sectioned it off, claiming they would be refining oil. The tourist business apparently had not wanted to have an oil refinery mark their landscape and had allowed the shell company to more or less take over that portion of the island. Ada had told them she knew of a perfect place to launch the strike from and as a result Chris had managed to get the seven of them, as well as their weapons, on a small cargo flight across the ocean and into Italy. The cargo flight would be under Wesker's radar if he happened to be tracking any of the former STARS. So now here they were, Jill and the two Redfields following Ada Wong as she transported the rest of the group to their temporary headquarters.

"I feel the need to remind you that you only take me to nice places when we are working." Jill said to Chris, sitting in the passenger seat next to her.

Even with the rejuvenating breeze from their speed blasting at his face and hair, Chris looked tired. Rebecca had mentioned to her as they had unloaded the aircraft that Chris hadn't found any rest on the flight unlike the rest of them. Instead he had spent most of the time in the cockpit going over the details of the operation, Jill could only assume. Her partner looked stressed as well. The tension was obvious in his face and posture. Having been quiet from the moment they had loaded the jeep and started off on the drive, Jill figured he could use a little distraction from his thoughts. She hoped the weak dig would bring him out of his own head.

"Chris doesn't know what a vacation is Jill, you should know that by know. How long were we in Paris back during the Anti-Umbrella days? I don't Chris ever saw anything more than the safehouse and the cafe across the street," the red-head from the back seat teased.

A quick glance to the side, told Jill that a little teasing wasn't helping. The older Redfield looked like he had taken offense.

_Wrong move Valentine._

"Always with the vacation jab. We were there to hide from assassins and plan our next move not wait in line to see Notre Dame, but apparently I'm the only who seems to remember that. You both have vacation time and money in the bank, next time you want to go somewhere book the flight yourselves." Chris told them a bit sharply. The way he said it wasn't exactly rude, but it plainly told Jill he was not in a mood to be picked on.

"You okay?" Jill asked. Chris normally had pretty thick skin. She took her eyes off the road for a moment to look at him.

"Fine. I'm just getting tired of hearing I never take either of you somewhere nice, that's all." muttered the man. The sound of Chris' voice did convey an apology in the words. He wasn't trying to be snappish that much was clear. The man used his fingers to rub his nose near his eyes as though trying to shake off a headache.

"We should have been more specific. You've taken us to plenty of nice places. We'd just like to take a vacation where shooting something isn't a requirement." Claire joked. Out of the corner of her eye, Jill saw Claire reach up and squeeze both of her brother's shoulders to let him know she didn't mean anything by it. Chris just squeezed one of his sisters hands back with his own then turned his head back to the hills and back to his thoughts.

Jill felt a little guilt for the crack. Of all of them Chris was under the most stress. He had become the de facto leader of their small group. While everyone certainly had an equal say since they were here of their own volition, Chris had ended up being the leader almost by default. Claire, Rebecca, and Barry had gotten used to Chris researching and planning all their operations against Umbrella after the Fall of Raccoon City. Even right after the return from the Arklay Mansion, Chris had been the one looking for all of Umbrella's skeletons. He had been the one planning to fight the corrupt corporation and how best to do it. It had been natural they turned to him. Leon and Ada had picked up on it and seemed to acknowledge Chris as being in charge.

As was typical for him, Chris had accepted the responsibility without complaint. So the end result was Chris pouring over everything he could to refine the plan the group had worked out so far. If there were any casualties Jill knew Chris would blame himself. Jill knew him well enough to know Chris would shoulder all the weight of the assignment and try to keep everything simple and focused for the team. Any team leader worth his salt wanted his team to be be as concentrated as possible. Still carrying all that weight wasn't easy for anyone, especially when your strike team consisted of your family and your best friends.

For Jill it was different, she didn't tend to think of Chris as in charge. Chris never once in their history acted as though he had rank over her, instead only treating her as he always did. He had consulted her on the plans and wanted her input, but Jill had let him carry that burden on his own during those long years fighting Umbrella. Now they were back in the same situation and Jill wasn't certain of how to help him. Any operation needed someone who had final say over the details and Chris would have been her pick anyway. You needed someone to ride themselves hard in that position so there were no mistakes, which was what Chris was doing. Professionally Jill knew it was right of him to do so but privately she didn't like seeing him like this again. Add that to still dealing with shock of the bombing, Wesker's survival, lack of sleep and it made sense her partner was on edge.

One thing Jill had enjoyed about her and Chris both becoming BSAA agents, was that Command made the decisions and they just used their best judgment to get the job done. It had allowed both Jill and her partner to take the edge off. It was easier to be responsible for doing your part in a mission rather than have responsibility for the mission's entire success or fail, not to mention everyone's lives. She would just have to make sure he didn't over do it which could lead to mistakes just as easily.

"So Claire, if you could take a vacation where would you go?" Jill asked, deciding to leave Chris to his thoughts.

Claire tilted her head in thought. "I don't know. I hear New Zealand is nice. The landscape looks gorgeous from what I've seen. You?"

Jill smirked, "I'd probably rent a house or condo on the beach somewhere. Sit and soak in the sun where the only time I think of anything related to the word Umbrella is the decoration they put in my drink." Jill had made her pick to see if Chris was paying attention. He didn't seem to be listening though.

"Not a bad idea. After this is all over, we should do that. You and I could spend our days tanning and our nights picking up men." Claire leaned in as she spoke.

Jill had to laugh. Claire looked at her brother. Again nothing. He really was in his own world if he hadn't even moved on a comment from Claire on picking up guys. Even if he knew he should leave Claire to her own devices, Chris usually had a comment for her in regards to men. The odd thing was despite the fact she was no longer a teenager by many years, Claire actually seemed to invite and enjoy the inevitable response. It had to be a sibling thing. As an only child it was something Jill could understand but not relate to.

_I wish I knew what was going on in that head of his._

The passengers returned to their silence and Jill allowed her thoughts to get lost amid the twists and turns of the road. It was a pleasant and relaxing sensation, one that Jill decided to enjoy as long as she could. Once they arrived at their destination it would be all business. That meant mission briefings, preparation, and, if possible training, in the days leading up to the assault. Jill would need to be at the top of game, considering what they would be up against, and that meant no more taking it easy. She just hoped the rest of the team felt the same way. Jill never could stand someone who didn't approach an operation seriously.

The drive continued on until they lost sight of the sea. After about 10 minutes after Jill had last seen the water, Ada started to slow down. Bushes suddenly started to move and Jill saw the 'hill' next to them was a camouflaged garage. Ada pulled in and Jill followed quickly, not knowing if the door was timed. Pulling up beside the other jeep, Jill turned off the engine.

"Looks like we're here" Claire commented.

"Apparently," Jill replied.

In unison the passengers exited both vehicles and Jill began to examine her surroundings. The garage was sparse. It had room enough to fit another two cars and as far as she could tell was empty save for a few portable gas cans located to one side of the room. Next to them was a small group of steps leading to a windowless door. Jill saw Ada was already heading towards it and began to follow. After a second the rest of the group followed their lead.

Ascending the stairs Jill followed the corporate spy through the door. It was pitch black for a moment as Ada tried to locate the light switch, then suddenly overhead lights began to turn on one by one leading away from the garage to slowly reveal a long hallway with numerous doors leading to other rooms. The hall not only was long but wide as well, the slate colored walls were interrupted by large glass that would allow anyone from the hall to take a look into the room's purpose. Of course the lights were not on in those rooms so Jill couldn't make out the details as she continued to follow Wong. Another hall intersected the one they were in a few yards further down. Though she couldn't get an real indication of size the place felt big and looked fairly modern.

Leon whistled in surprise. "Just how big is this place?"

Ada didn't break stride until they where standing at an intersection of the two halls. "Big enough. This place was designed by a former CFO of Umbrella. After Raccoon City, he broke under pressure from the investigative committee and turned over evidence that showed some minor linkage between Umbrella and what occurred in the city. Umbrella started to hunt him down and he built this as his safehouse to hide out for his family and his personal bodyguards."

"What happened to him?" Barry questioned.

"What happens to most people that tried to take on Umbrella. They bought one of his guards and poisoned him. Without his testimony Umbrella felt the case against them would be weakened. My employers saw the value in the facilities and purchased it after his death." Ada responded.

"What exactly are the amenities we have on-hand?" Chris asked as he came up to Jill's side.

"It was designed to basically stay cut off from the majority of the world so it has a lot to offer. Dormitories for up to 18 people, conference rooms, shooting range and training rooms for squad combat, a weight training room, a racquetball court, a two room medical bay, and then kitchen and living areas. It was designed to support both the CFO's family and to keep his bodyguards trained a peak performance, which is why it suits our purposes quiet easily. Further down there is a door that leads to another outside location where we put in a helipad. " Ada told him.

Jill couldn't help but be impressed. It sounded like a perfect operations center, one that she wished they had back when they were waging their private war against Umbrella. Jill saw similar signs of approval on the faces of the rest of the team.

_This place is perfect. Not only will we be able to plan but also train. Not bad Wong, not bad at all._

Chris moved from her side to stand next to Ada so he could see the majority of the team. "Alright then, it's been a long trip and we could all use a small break. Let's take the next two hours to get familiar with the surroundings and settle in. We'll meet in the central conference room after that and go over the details of the mission then." Chris nodded in a way that said 'dismissed' but the words never left his mouth. He wasn't nearly pretentious enough to act as though he actually was their commander, even if the team had handed over the reigns of the mission to him. This was more a resistance movement than a military operation and Chris knew it. Still Jill was impressed with his subtle aura of leadership, he could use a simple nod rather than a command to get the same effect. It had been a while since he had need to use it.

The group began to break up as everyone began to explore the area. Dimly Jill overheard Barry asked where the shooting range was and Rebecca went to Ada for directions to the med-bay. Claire headed off to what Jill assumed were the dormitories, and Leon started off to the garage for their belongings.

_It hasn't been that long it since the Anti-Umbrella movement it seems. We still remember some of the steps._

Chris and Ada were speaking softly as they continued down the hall.

_Probably asking her where the gym is._

Jill not feeling drawn in any particular direction decided to head off to find the squad training room. She wanted to see what they had to work with.

It was time things got serious.

---------------------------------

The room Jill had chosen as her own was surprisingly good sized like the rest of the complex. Rather than the slate walls of the hall, the walls were painted a light blue and that had probably been what had drawn her to the room. It provided a tranquil feeling Jill found soothing. As with the rest of the rooms in the dormitory, it contained a queen sized bed, a built-in dresser, a couch, table, and of course bathroom. It was certainly an upgrade from the BSAA dormitories Jill had seen.

Wrapping her wet hair in a towel, Jill dressed quickly and threw on a pair of comfortable jeans and a black t-shirt. She had just showered. After spending hours locked in an airplane she had started to smell, and the shower had helped to rejuvenate her once again for the meeting ahead. When it was within her control, Jill liked to feel fresh. Years of missions that had covered her in gore, dirt, sewage, and who knew what else had made Jill develop a strong desire towards needing to feel clean when possible. A good shower had always helped rid her of the lingering thoughts that filled her mind after she had completed an assignment. Today though she had needed it to rinse off her fatigue and clear her mind.

Roughly 30 minutes remained until the group would once again assemble to have the details of the assault presented. Jill had already memorized most of the layout of Wesker's facility when Chris had come to her for consultation, but she wanted to be alert if the others had questions or concerns she had not thought of.

Jill moved over towards the door and specifically to the metal briefcase she had set down near it earlier. Picking it up she placed it on the bed and opened it. Carefully packaged inside was her Beretta as well as several spare clips.

Grabbing a smooth cloth she had tucked into the case, Jill disassembled and began to clean the weapon. It was something of a ritual for Jill. She always felt slightly compulsive about cleaning her weapon when she knew it would soon be seeing use. After a few minutes she was satisfied and put the weapon back in its case. Moving over to her suitcase she opened it to peer in. After a minute she saw one of the two identical blue hats she brought with her, one for down time and the other for the operation. Tucking the majority of her semi-dried hair under it, Jill strolled out of her room and proceeded down the hall towards the conference room Chris had indicated they would meet.

Upon entering Jill saw she wasn't the first to arrive. Chris, Barry, and Ada were sitting on the opposite end of the large conference table engaging in light conversation. She said her hellos and moved to sit next to Chris near one corner of the room. As she moved towards him, Jill gave Chris a slightly fuller smile than she had given the others when she saw him watching her. He still looked tired. Dark circles had started to appear under his eyes since she had last seen him. His body still seemed too tense as though he was expecting trouble or either the stress was beginning to really get to him. Regardless of Chris' posture, his eyes lite up as she neared and he extended her a private smile. The exchange was not anything new between them. It had been going on since shortly after Jill had joined S.T.A.R.S. but still, it had never lost its effect to make Jill feel her presence was welcomed.

The second Chris' eyes left hers, as she sat down, Jill saw the light vanish and Chris' gaze seemed to glaze as he turned his head back to the door to await the missing members of the team. Something was bothering him. Jill considered asking him about it if she could find them a minute of privacy. Chris wasn't one to overshare however and she doubted it would do much good. Should she tell him if he wanted to talk she was here for him? The words sounded foreign even in her own thoughts, neither of them ever said anything like that to the other. It has always been implied in their partnership if one of them needed the other they would be there. Privacy was something that their partnership and even friendship had always respected. Only on rare occasions had they forced the other to talk about an issue. Jill didn't know if the rules had changed now that _they _had changed. Should she try to pry it out of him or wait and see if he wanted to tell her?

_Get your head in the game Valentine. Chris Redfield was always something to think about when you weren't working and until this is over you are working._

The thoughts forced Jill to snap out of her analysis of her partner. If Chris wanted to vent to her then she would be there for him, but she wasn't going to push anything.

Slowly the others filtered into the room and finally when everyone arrived, Chris flipped on an overhead projector and the wall to Jill's left was filled with plans to Wesker's complex and dimmed the lights.

"Now that we are all here, lets get down to it." Chris' voice filled the room. "This is the plans for the lab Excella Gionne has given to Wesker for BOW development. It's located on an isolated portion of an island not too far from here. We're going to return the favor Wesker did to the BSAA headquarters and blow it to hell."

Jill heard a grunt of approval. That had to be Barry. She smiled.

"I've contacted an old friend from my Airforce days. He's going to 'borrow' an Airforce helicopter to transport us to the island and will then land on the other side of the island to await our pick up call. We are going to land here" Chris made an X on the projection of the satellite photo showing the base from a top-down perspective. It looked like it was just behind a group of hills. "We should be able to land here without attracting attention and from there it's about a mile hike to the lab. There should be enough trees and vegetation that we can approach in stealth. We will be going in just before dawn so that will also be to our advantage."

"What type of defenses are we looking at on the surface?" Leon asked.

"Minimal. Remember the lab is located underground and the surface is a functional oil refinery so disguise is the main defense for the surface. There should be no more than a single team located inside the perimeter." Chris marked a few lines on the overhead to show probably patrol paths. "Getting inside is the trickier part. There are three entry points from the blueprints we have available. We are going to break up into three separate teams to cover more ground and, ideally, get in and out before the whole place comes down on us. Team 1 will enter through the main lab entrance located in the central office building. Team 2 will enter through a large cargo elevator that leads directly to the storage wing. Team 3 will repel down a maintenance shaft that leads down from the surface." Chris drew numbers to show where exactly each team would be entering the facility. He paused then to let everyone else spend a few more seconds to examine the layout, before removing the surface layout and replacing them with the one's for the underground lab.

"Our goal from there on in is simple. Each team is responsible for planting an explosive charge at a specific location. Jill, our resident B&E specialist, is going to be providing each team with a charge." Chris nodded to Jill to acknowledge her contributions then drew X's again to show the bomb points. "With the charges at these specific points the lab will collapse on itself. All we need to do is be long gone when we detonate the charges. Expect armed resistance, TriCell security guards are probably going to be hounding us once they know we are there. On top of that we know from our intel that BOWs are housed there as well and Wesker is the type to let them loose just to give us a bigger headache, his own people be damned."

"Do we know what types of BOW's they possess?" Rebecca's voice came from the opposite end of the table.

Chris shook his head, "No we don't. Expect everything from T-Virus zombies to Tyrants. It's also possible there maybe more of that unknown BOW that attacked the BSAA compound. Just in case we brought incendiary grenades for each team to bring with them since fire appears to be its only weakness. The best I can say is expect the unexpected."

There were a couple murmurers at that. Jill had to agree with the sentiment. No one liked going in blind and she wasn't looking forward to facing off against another one of Wesker's new pets. It had been luck and quick thinking that had killed the first one. The idea of potentially facing down multiple of those new BOWs wasn't something she was looking forward to. Unfortunately there was little in the way of options and Chris' plan was designed to emphasis speed and surprise. Get in, plant the bombs, and get out. If they were fast enough, they hopefully avoid causalities or at least keep them to a minimum.

"Chris, couldn't we just blow the oil refinery? Wouldn't that take care of the lab and it would mean much less risk on our part?" Claire asked from her spot on the other side of Jill.

Jill turned to young woman and answered in her brother's place. "We thought of that but so TriCell when they built the place. With the dense materials the lab is constructed of as well as its depth under the surface, I think for the most part, the lab would remain intact. The reason we are hitting these 3 spots is to bring the complex completely down around itself to take care of anything the explosions miss. We don't have much choice here. We have to blow it all up and if the explosions fail to accomplish that then we need to be sure what remains is buried. The last thing we need is one Wesker's pets surviving then escaping to infect the rest of the island's inhabitants. It would be Raccoon City all over again."

Understanding came into Claire's eyes. No one here wanted to risk another outbreak on the scale of Raccoon City again.

After pausing for a moment to see if there were any other questions, Chris continued, "OK lets go over the targets. Team 3 is going to consist of Barry and Rebecca. Your job will be to place charges in the central mainframe and take down their computer network. A charge at that end of the complex should bring down that side of the building. Team 2 will be Jill and Claire. We need you to place the charge in the BOW storage facility so we make sure we take out all their test subjects. Get in and get out fast. We don't want you to get caught down there if TriCell decides to open the doors for all their monsters. Team 1 will be Leon, Ada, and myself. We are going straight for the central research lab to destroy all their virus samples. Our entrance will probably gather the most attention since we are taking the most direct route, so Team 2 and 3 take good advantage of the distraction we'll provide. Once everyone is clear, Jill you will have the detonators so blow the lab."

Jill felt her body tense as Chris continued talking. Anger flushed through her body. Outrage really, she couldn't believe the words that had come from her partner's mouth.

_He's going after Wesker with Leon and ADA? He's cutting me out. That son of a bitch!_

Jill tried to not give any outward indication she was seething. Team 1 was taking the most direct route on purpose to provide a distraction for the other two teams and, Jill knew, to get Wesker's attention. Sure Chris had to be hoping they could get in and out quickly enough that Wesker would be killed in the blast, but he couldn't count on it. If Wesker learned of the intrusion his first instinct would be to protect the research lab if he decided to involve himself at all. BOWs and computer data were less important compared to actual virus samples and research. Chris knew that. Redfield was baiting their captain to come after him and stop him. Wesker could always try to go after one of the other teams, but even if he took hostages Chris would have the lab as his own hostage. Plus there was too much bad blood between the two of them, Wesker wouldn't bother with the other teams. He'd go right after Team 1.

Right after Chris with Jill on the other side of the complex.

Jill didn't care if he had reasons or not, they had vowed years ago to finish Umbrella and Wesker together - as a team. Now at the endgame Chris was edging her out. She deserved to be there. That bastard had done as much to her as anyone else in this room and she wanted to be there when he died. She wanted.....no needed to play a part.

Chris was still talking, answering a question Leon had asked, but Jill wasn't listening instead she chose to fix him with an icy glare to let him know what was coming. Chris wasn't even looking at her, but she could tell even if he couldn't see her reaction he knew what it was. His body was even more tense if that were possible.

_He probably was worrying how I would take being sidelined. Well guess what you ass, you're right. Not well._

"Chris you haven't mentioned what we're going to do about Wesker. What's the plan there?" Barry voice managed to break through Jill's increasingly hostile thoughts.

_Yeah Agent Redfield, what's the plan there? Get your ass kicked all over again? This time though you'll have near strangers as witnesses._

Chris' gaze flickered over to Jill for second as if he had heard her thoughts before sighing. "In all honesty Barry, I'd prefer it if he got caught in the explosion but I don't think our luck is that good. We have three syringes of the cure for his version of the virus and each team will receive one to be safe. We don't know which team he'll fight if any. If Wesker does confront you remember he can move faster than your eye and hits like a truck. Use teamwork to try and distract him so you can inject him."

The questions continued on for a little while longer but Jill had stopped paying attention all together. Her thoughts had claimed her attention instead.

Why was Chris doing this? Was it from some misguided impulse to protect her? That was the only thing she could think of. Maybe they could only be partners and not carry a relationship at the same time. Jill knew enough cases where co-workers couldn't function in the same capacity after becoming involved. She had thought her and Chris wouldn't have this problem, they had been partners too long. He knew she could handle herself so why?

_Why damn it?_

Jill meant to find out. It appeared Chris was wrapping the briefing up as he turned off the projector.

"Alright everyone I'm going to drop by each of your rooms and leave a folder with all your mission objections as well as layout maps. Also since we have training facilities here I expect us all to use them. Starting tomorrow we will be running drills to make sure we are all ready. No exceptions. We'll start the first one tomorrow at 7 am. We hit Wesker's base in 2 days time and in that time we need to have our plan down pat." Chris paused and his gaze dropped to the floor.

He seemed to be looking for the right words. When Chris raised his eyes they were blue steel. He placed his hands on the table and leaned forward.

"We have all been haunted for years over what Umbrella unleashed on the world. We've all lost friends and had our lives flipped upside down in the blink of an eye. From here on out we _are _going to stop this. Let's put the last nail in the coffin of their legacy. Let's end this for good."

"You said it Chris." Barry's agreement produced a round of affirmation from the rest of the table.

Jill remained silent, keeping her eyes on her partner. Chris finally met her gaze and almost imperceptibly nodded at her. He knew she wanted to talk. The two of them waited quietly as the room emptied itself. When at last they were alone Jill rose from her chair.

Jill waited for Chris to speak first but he did not so she began.

Jill couldn't manage to remove the anger from her voice. "Just what in the hell are you trying to pull Chris? You know it should be you and I drawing Wesker's attention. I deserve to go, but you're trying to cut me out. We swore to finish this together. We're _partners_." Jill said the word as though he had forgotten what it meant.

"I know," Chris' voice was quiet but his eyes never left hers. Something about how he said those words was a little unsettling.

"Then why are you taking Leon and Ada? You don't know how they operate. You don't know how they fight, how they think. Leon should be paired with Claire rather than me, they have a history. They would work well together." Frustration mixed itself with the anger she was feeling and Jill didn't want to look at him anymore. "I can't believe I even have to argue this with you."

Chris' voice remained calm and quiet as he answered her, "The reason I chose Leon and Ada is because I don't trust Ada enough to leave her alone with only one person keeping an eye on her. Leon brought her to us and vouched for her. If she crosses us it's his responsibility and he knows it. He asked me to be able to keep an eye on her just in case. I agreed. That's one reason. The other reason is you are my partner and in the field there's no one I'd rather be with, that's why you're going with Claire. Leon is a good guy and he's helped her in the past, but you're the only one I trust to make sure Claire makes it back. Lastly you're the only one with the expertise to arm and use the detonators. If you come with us and Wesker does wipe the floor with us then this whole operation ends up being for nothing."

His explanations helped soothe some of her anger, but it wasn't nearly enough.

"I could easily show someone how to work the detonators. As for Claire, she doesn't need me, Leon would do just as good a job as me. She's a big girl and can take care of herself just fine." Jill wasn't going to let herself be deterred easily.

"As opposed to her brother who can't?" Chris shot back at her. There was a little fire in his voice now.

"Against Wesker? No. We hurt him last time, but we both nearly died. The only reason either one of us is alive is because we were watching out for one another. I'm sure Leon and Ada are good fighters but they aren't me. Leon might not be able to watch Ada and your back at the same time. And don't even count on Wong. For all we know this could be an elaborate trap designed by Wesker. Both of us know how good he is at setting those up." Jill's voice was getting louder.

"We better hope that's not the case or it won't matter who's in who's team because we'll all be dead. Jill don't you see if something goes wrong I'm counting on you to get everyone else out. You'll have to take command and I need to know its you doing it." Chris voice rose to match hers.

"Find someone else." Jill's tone was unrelenting.

For the first time Jill saw real anger on Chris face. He clenched his jaw before answering.

"I won't. I'm not going to pretend I can order you around. This operation is voluntary so if you don't like how I'm running it then you don't have to go. Or you can try and convince everyone else I'm not the guy for the job then replace me, but I'm asking my partner to look at the bigger picture and take over if something happens. To do that you can't be with me this time. Wesker is too fast and strong to say, reliably, we could inject him. If he catches on to what we have planned we might just blow our shot. If that is the case and we fail, you're the one everyone will look to. Get everyone out and blow the place up." He took a step toward her, his eyes searching her face for understanding.

Jill had none to offer him. Chris knew she didn't have a leg to stand on in trying to get the team to sub her for Ada. She could probably convince Claire but she doubted Leon would go for it. Aside from this one issue Chris' plan was as sound as they would get concerning their limited resources.

"So let me get this straight you want me to babysit your sister who happens to have more field experience than some of our late BSAA colleagues, while you try to lure Wesker into a fight. If you fail then I get the job of evacuating everyone else and blowing up the compound not knowing if my partner is still alive or not. Chris let me make this clear. GO - TO - HELL! I can't believe your actually asking this of me. There's no way YOU would agree to this if our places were reversed." Jill was yelling now.

Chris didn't flinch from her screams. Instead he just kept his eyes on her and lowered his voice. It seemed a whisper in comparison to Jill's screams.

"I know that. Still I'm asking this from you. Take care of my sister. You two aren't going to have it easy being the ones that are infiltrating the BOW housing level. You might actually be at more risk than where I'm heading. You two need watch each others backs. If anything goes wrong I want to know you both are out and safe. Then finish what we started and end this." His eyes pleaded with her.

The argument was going nowhere. Jill's frustration and anger was nearly spilling over her rationality and she decided she had enough. She took a calming breathe to make sure she didn't say anything in anger she couldn't take back. Then she gave Chris one last look.

"Nothing against Claire but I'm a one partner woman Chris, haven't you figured that out already? If you do I'll be around. If not, then after this mission maybe we will need to go our separate ways," she turned her back and walked out the conference room.

Part of her, the angry part, cheered her actions on while another part was terrified. Jill had to force her feet to keep a steady rhythm. It was odd she actually had to focus on walking as her emotions were playing havoc with her senses.

It would be up to him now.

As she walked away Jill though she heard her partner's voice say "Jill, wait."

Jill Valentine kept walking.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic.

Chris

_One_

_Two_

_Three_

The discolored metal bar was cold in Chris' hands. He shifted his grip to make himself more comfortable. He felt the familiar sensation of his muscles straining to do the repetitions against the combined weight of the bar and numerous plates he had put on each end. Chris continued his silent count.

_Four_

_Five_

_Six_

He was alone in the moderately sized weight training room. Empty machines that hadn't seen use in years were his only company. Chris didn't mind the isolation, in fact it was exactly what he wanted. It had been a long day.

_Seven_

_Eight_

_Nine_

It was night on the second day since they had arrived at the safehouse. The morning and day had been filled with drill after drill to hone the team's ability. Chris had been quietly pleased by the results, so far the team had shaved 5 minutes off their first attempt. Weapon accuracy had improved as well for some of the group who hadn't wielded a gun in a while, such as Claire and Rebecca. He had called an end to the exercises about two hours ago and told everyone to take the rest of the night off. Nearly everyone had looked beat and most had head off to either have dinner or clean up.

Tired as he was from the day Chris, however, had managed to convince Rebecca to grant him the okay to hit the gym for a light workout. His arm was healing well and it had been far too long since he had been to the gym. Once he had finished the first set or two the idea of a light workout had been thrown out the window. Two hours later Chris was still going at it with no intention of stopping anytime soon.

_Ten_

_Eleven_

_Tweleve_

Satisfied Chris guided the bar back into the slots attached to the bench press' arms where the bar could rest. Sitting up Chris stretched his arms, savoring the burn of a good workout. He was starting to get sore.

_Nearly two weeks off and I'm already sore two hours in. Pathetic._

It was a good kind of sore, one Chris welcomed. The tension that had been consuming his life was gone for the most part. Chris had always worked out during his adult life but in the last few years, especially since joining the BSAA, he had become a gym rat. The gym had become his haven when he was between missions. He felt a good workout could break down all the stress in his muscles. Not only that but the gym always allowed him to let go of his thoughts and concerns, allowing his mind to relax. Oddly enough it was when Chris was straining himself physically that he found some mental peace and clarity.

Chris had first started really getting into working out not long after the fall of Umbrella, when Chris had finally returned to the States, not having to fear assassins any longer. He had done it with the intention of readying himself for the day he found Wesker. Their brief battle in Antarctica had convinced Chris it would be the fight of his life and he intended to be prepared. As time went on it became his refuge, allowing him to work off the stress of his job and distract him from unpleasant thoughts. In hindsight it had probably become his subsitute for smoking as well ever since his sister had begged him to quit. Something had to take the edge off.

At first Claire had teased him for it and Jill had told him there was nothing wrong with getting a bit more fit although she too made the occasional comment. Neither had really known just how much time he spent working out, but if Chris wasn't working or with either of them he had been in the gym. It was better than a lonely apartment with only the TV for company after all.

The teasing had increased when the results started to show, until both women seemed a little concerned when he started to throw all his spare time into and he really began to bulk up. After a while, rumors had started to circulate in the BSAA office that he had started taking steroids. Chris remembered walking into the BSAA locker room more than once to have a group of guys suddenly stop talking the moment he entered. Chris knew with no doubts he was the topic. He was also pretty sure Claire had used her spare key to go through his apartment and had raided his locker, which he suspected Jill had pocketed off him and given to his sister. He had never said anything to either of them about it. They had after all been acting out of concern. The truth was much sadder, and that was Chris Redfield didn't have a life outside work so the gym had become both part of his work and an escape from it.

It was that desire for an escape that had made him head down to the gym alone. He had hardly slept last night, his concerns of the impending operation and the fight with Jill was still too fresh in his mind for him to find much rest. Chris had been exhausted running through the drills he had prepared for the team, but right now he felt good. The workout had done its magic again. Chris felt more energized than he had in days. The knots that had found their way into his shoulders since the bombing and then later doubled after learning of Jill's infection were gone. He probably could go for another hour if he felt like this, but Chris knew he shouldn't.

It wasn't smart to overdue it the first time back after a break. He didn't want to get too sore that the feeling lasted and started to restrict his movements during drills. Besides despite his assurances to Rebecca of a light workout it had been anything but. Yes he usually spent more time in the gym but he had been hitting his routine hard.

_I can still do a few more machines though._

"I can't believe you're STILL here!" A familiar voice entered the air from the gym's doorway.

Chris turned to see his sister standing in the doorway, one hand on her hip and the other holding a plate of food. Claire was still dressed in the black sweats she used for training.

Chris gave her a guilty grin, "Its not been that long."

Claire fixed him with a stare that seemed to say 'You're really going to try to pass that off on me?'

"Somehow I don't think two hours is Rebecca's idea of a light workout," Claire's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"What? I've only done half of my workout routine," Chris was at least being honest there.

Somehow Claire's stare became more expressive, "Yeah, you've only missed dinner and been doing one of your insane workouts after a day full of combat training. A day that has everyone else complaining about how tired they are because of it. Chris, I love you, you're my brother but you're off your rocker."

"Hey!" Just when Chris was finally feeling good someone had to try a ruin it for him.

_Figures_

"Hey I'm doing this because I care. Rebecca said she was going to come down here in less than five minutes and if I were you I wouldn't be here when she arrived." Claire held up a hand as if to say 'its your call.'

"Alright," Chris conceded. He knew when he was beat. The last thing Chris wanted was another woman upset with him. "Oh and thanks for the warning."

"Sure thing. Now lets get out of here."

Giving in, Chris reached for his towel and quickly cleaned the machine before walking through the maze of empty machines towards his sister.

"What's everyone else been up to?" Chris asked her as they fell into step walking down the hall leading away from the fitness center.

Claire gave him a wry look. "Not continuing to work themselves past exhaustion that's for sure. Barry, Ada, and Jill already headed back to their rooms. Rebecca was in the medical bay going over its supplies with Leon giving her a hand. I saw her on my way to the dorms and that's when she asked me where you were. I figured if I wanted a live brother I should find you before she did." The red-head shrugged as if it was a close call.

"Worried you would have to find someone else to pick on?" Chris asked her.

"Really, after the work out you put us all through you should count yourself lucky I cared enough to find the strength to walk. The fact you look less tired after working out on top of that is inhuman Chris. I'm going to have to have a gym intervention for you when we get back home." Claire teased him.

"Fine just be sure you do it right and have a banner." Chris added his own sarcasm into their banter.

"Thanks for the tip dork," Claire hit him lightly on his good arm.

The siblings continued their conversation as the headed down the halls toward their dormitories. The halls lights had been dimmed as most of the residents had already returned to their quarters for the evening, even though it was only slightly after 10pm. In truth Chris had to think it had probably been wise of them to do so. Training for most of the day on top of getting used to the time change would be enough for anyone to call it a night early.

"So who is this old Air Force buddy of yours who's going to be our pilot?" Claire questioned.

"Remember why I got kicked out of the Air Force? Well Brint was part of the what," he answered.

Claire mouthed an 'oh' and left it at that.

It was an old story Claire had heard more than once. Chris had been stationed in an Air Force base just outside of Bosnia back when the genocides were still taking place before the Dayton Accords. An Air Force AWACs had been doing a routine patrol over a small valley just outside the border when suddenly a surface to air missile had shot it out of the sky. Chris and his wingman had been scrambled to provide air support and examine the wreckage to determine if their were survivors. As it turned out Brint, the pilot and a friend from flight school, had been one of three survivors. It also turned out that the missile wasn't some remote SAM site, instead the entire valley had been littered with SAMs. Chris and his wingman had to do more fancy flying than anyone had done since Vietnam to avoid being shot down as well. Upon hearing that the two were ordered back to base. Apparently the brass had felt that two F-16's were worth more than the three men who had survived.

_Bastards_

Chris' wingman had followed orders and returned to base, but Chris directly disobeyed when seeing the Serbs had deployed a pair of tanks and a small company to bring in the downed Americans. Chris Redfield was not the type to leave friends behind. In the end the incident ended with the survivors escaping the valley and Chris blowing up the tanks as well as several SAM sites. In any other scenario Chris' actions would have earned him a medal and most likely a promotion. The problem was when he returned to base Chris had said more than a few choice words to his superiors which lead to his discharge.

Looking back Chris didn't know what he would have done if sometime later he had not run into Barry Burton at Kendo's gun shop in Raccoon City. It was there he had been recruited into S.T.A.R.S.

_My life could have been totally different._

Irregardless of his discharge, Brint had looked up Chris when he had returned to the states and thanked him for saving his life. The two tried to get together every few years and catch up with one another. After the bombing of the BSAA headquarters Brint had looked Chris up to see if he had died. It had been perfect timing as Chris had been working on the plans for the assault and knew they would need a pilot.

_Besides he owes me one._

As they reached the door to Chris' room, Claire offered him the plate she had been holding. "This is for you since you chose to skip dinner." It held a cooked chicken and some vegetables.

Chris grinned all the more at her. "Thanks sis, I don't know what I'd do without you." Claire loved to feel like she was mothering him. It was odd, especially considering how sometimes she also seemed to love it when Chris took on the stance of the protective big brother despite her strong independent streak. But that was their relationship, the desire to look out for each other and at times accept the others concern. "Do you want to come in and talk for a minute?"

This time Claire matched the grin. Even though she had spent the last few days before the group left for Europe at his apartment, they still saw felt as though seeing each other was a rarity. Both their careers had taken them all over the world and considering the Redfield work ethic, they seldom managed to get enough downtime that coincided with one another's schedules. As grim as things had become, Chris thought it was a blessing the two of them had managed to spend so much time together over the last week. He knew Claire still felt a bit guilty about moving out of their apartment and into the city for her career at TerraSave. Chris had tried to tell her it was no big deal and a woman her age should be on her own but he wasn't sure she believed he meant it. He had, but it was hard to part from the last of his family.

Claire made herself comfortable by sitting down on one of the rooms chairs, while Chris planted himself on the couch near her so he could eat on the small table in front of it. They kept conversation light with Claire doing most of the talking as Chris ate. When he had finished Chris noticed Claire kept eying him as though she wanted to ask him something but didn't know how.

"What is it?" Chris asked her. He had a feeling he knew what it was.

"So Jill was in a bad mood today," Claire said as though it were off-handed.

Chris sighed. That was an understatement. Ever since their fight last night after the briefing Jill had done her best to avoid him. Every time he tried to corner her to talk, she managed to smoothly get away. During the combat drills Jill had been civil but brief with him and never once had she allowed Chris to get her alone. As per his plan she did her drills with Claire, but it didn't take a genius to see she was clearly upset about it. Chris wasn't sure how much of the fight the others had heard last night if any of it, but by mid-morning he was sure everyone knew Jill Valentine was in a very bad mood and Chris Redfield had something to do with it.

"Give you two guesses why?" Chris said sarcastically.

"Not so happy about her role huh? Well do you blame her?" Claire asked.

"Honestly no I don't. In truth I'm not exactly happy with it, but it made the most sense. Its been a while Rebecca has had some field time so an old hand like Barry is just what she would need. Plus they both have had the same S.T.A.R.S. training so that pairing works. I always wanted two people watching over Ada. Leon asked to keep an eye on her and since he brought her to us I couldn't say no. That left you, Jill, and I as the leftovers."

"I'm glad you don't trust her, but why not just send me with Leon and Ada so you and Jill could partner up like normal?" Chris could tell Claire was genuinely curious. She at least didn't seem to be taking sides.

"I trust Ada in so far as she wants Wesker dead. That much I'm sure she's on the level about. I chose to go with them because they are both good fighters and since we will be drawing the most attention Wesker will most likely go after us. In that fight the more people on our side the better. Three on one odd are about the best we could get, assuming he actually does try to protect the lab. Besides you've trained with me in your spare time so you think like I do during missions. I figured it would be easy enough for Jill to adapt to that considering how long she and I have been together." Chris did his best to explain the train of thought that led him to make the decisions he had.

"Any other reasons?" Claire asked flatly. Chris knew exactly what his sister was asking.

_You mean am I assigning Jill as your partner to make sure you get out alive?_

"I don't want Wesker anywhere near you," Chris knew it was better to just admit it to her than try and hide it. "You're not going to have it easy being in the BOW storage chamber. In fact you might have it worse, but my guess is Wesker won't want to deal with his own beasts either."

Claire's eyes narrowed, but he knew she must have already known. Claire was smart so she must have figured that out the moment he had announced the teams. She might not like it but Claire knew she'd never be able to convince Chris otherwise.

Instead of a snappish comment however, his sister hesitated for a second as though unsure whether to continue. "I heard Jill mutter that she thought you were trying to keep her away from Wesker too. Why would she think that?," Claire's blue eyes searched him for a reaction.

Chris wanted to sigh again. That certainly wasn't a question he wanted to answer, but knew he would have to.

"Because I don't," Chris confessed, "Jill's background with Delta Force makes her the only one with the training to properly handle the detonators. If Wesker..." the next words were hard to say, "killed her the mission would be over. Plus if anything happened to me then she would be the one to take charge." That wasn't the whole story, but it was the parts that mattered.

Claire frowned when he mentioned the possibility of his own death. "That's not going to happen, Chris. You're going to be careful right?" Her voice held a note of fear.

For a second Chris didn't see the strong and independent woman Claire had become, instead he saw the little red-head girl he had found himself responsible for after the death of his parents. A moment later and he also saw the young woman who he had rescued from the Antarctic that had asked him to promise her he wouldn't leave her. It lasted only a second and then he was again looking at the fierce and caring woman she was today.

Chris smiled at her, "Don't worry sis, I wouldn't give Wesker the satisfaction. We both have a lot of living to do after this is over."

"Good." Claire laughed as though shaking off a nervous feeling. Then grew serious again, "Do want me to try and talk to her?"

Chris shook his head. As kind as the offer was, this was something that he had to deal with. "Thanks Claire, but this is between Jill and I. I'll try and talk with her again tomorrow if she'll listen. Maybe she just needed some time to cool off a bit first."

Chris knew he would have to find some way to make amends with his partner. Chris would never want to go into a combat operation with Jill upset with him. Too much could happen and she was too important to leave things the way they were.

"Just don't blow it."

"If I do I'm sure you won't let me forget it," he answered sardonically.

"What are sister's for?" came the rhetorical response.

Satisfied Claire stood up and told him she should head off to bed. Exchanging good byes, Claire exited the room and Chris was once again alone.

Chris looked around the modest accommodations of his room and wondered what to do next. He still had enough energy that he wasn't quite ready for sleep, but there wasn't much for him to do. Walking over to his duffel bag Chris reached in and moved his hand around until he felt what he was looking for. Gripping the handle in his hand, Chris pulled his new knife from the bag. Having lost his old combat knife in Weskers eye, Chris had been forced to find a replacement. After some indecision he had gone with a MercWorx Goliath. It was a much larger blade than he had been used to, but in Chris' line of work he had figured having some extra length on the blade meant he could allow extra distance from anything trying to kill him. Needless to say a definite plus.

Wordlessly Chris pulled the weapon from the sheath a tried a couple practice swings to get used to the weight and heft. He spent a couple minutes practicing some basic moves as well as quickly pulling out of its sheath just in case the moment arose when he needed it fast. The knife was definitely too big to wear it handle pointed down on his chest as he had with most of his previous knives.

_I'll probably have to wear it on my hip or maybe over my shoulder...._

Still practicing Chris' thoughts drifted to his partner. He still had no idea how to get Jill to listen, let alone convince her towards his way of thinking. She was still furious if her behavior towards him today was any indication.

Chris really did understand her anger and in truth he couldn't blame her. To Jill's eyes his actions must look like a betrayal, but unfortunately for Chris he hadn't been able to come up with any reasonable alternatives. If something happened to Jill, no one else had the training to properly use the detonators and despite Jill's claims she could teach someone Chris knew that wouldn't work. One error or slight hitch with the detonator itself and no crash course would be enough. It had to be Jill with the detonators. That of course meant Chris didn't want her anywhere near Albert Wesker and teaming Jill up with Claire had somewhat soothed his anxeity about his sister being on this mission.

Those were the reasons Chris had based his decisions on. He was sure Jill suspected he had ulterior motives for choosing to go with Leon and Ada, even if she hadn't directly accused him of it yet. Motives of a more personal nature. If she had accused him of it, Chris would have denied it. Chris had always known he had no say over the danger Jill Valentine exposed herself to, in fact he was often glad it was her by his side when the going got tough. Still.....

A flash of memory appeared in his mind's eye. An image of Jill and Wesker crashing through a window, out to the valley below.

Chris still remembered hearing the fear in her eyes and her voice as she begged him to let go. He still remembered the fear he had felt over nearly lossing her. Despite the many near death experiences they had faced, Chris was sure that one would remain with him longer than most. He may not have based his decision concerning Jill on those motives, but he was aware those feeling had most likely influenced him to some degree.

Chris though doubted he was the only one. Jill had nearly gotten herself killed trying to protect him and Chris was pretty sure _her_ feelings had led her to make that decision. It had been pure blind luck Chris had managed to catch hold of her leg before she fell. They were both compromised when it came to the other. Chris and Jill had just been too ignorant and too good at their job to realize it. Given that fact, it would be stupid to have them both face off against Wesker, who was Chris feared might pick up on it and use it against them. That meant only one of them could face Wesker and Chris had chosen himself.

_I'm not going to let you try and sacrifice yourself for me again._

If Claire Redfield and Jill Valentine never saw Albert Wesker again, Chris would be a much happier man for it.

Suddenly the word 'positive' seemed to float around in his head in that damnable small font that had been all over the print outs he had found. That was another source for concern. Chris still hadn't been able to deal with or accept the information he had stumbled upon in Jill's medical file.

Jill Valentine his partner, his best friend, his....was infected by the T-Virus.

A surge of anger shot through him and his practice moves began to take on a more furious speed ignoring the soreness of his muscles

Chris still had no idea how it had happened. The records went back quite a ways but he hadn't seen exactly how far back. Had it happened on one of the many missions he had planned trying to bring down Umbrella when they had been resistance members? It could have been as far back as the Arklay mansion for all he knew. Years in time and yet Jill had never told him. Why? Was it his fault? Had he planned something wrong or not been there when she needed him? Was that why she had remained silent?

All Chris knew was that all was not well with his partner. Jill had always seemed as tough as a rock, but in Chris' eyes she had become fragile. He had always assumed that as long as they were together they could survive just about any mission. It was foolish, Chris knew, but years upon years of beating impossible odds had made Chris feel that Jill and he were invincible as long as they looked out for each other. That skirmish with Wesker and the history he had found in her medical file had shown Chris just what an idiot he had been.

Chris should have pushed her away years ago so she could live her own life. He should have turned her away when she had found him after Raccoon City's destruction. Maybe then Jill wouldn't have been infected. And if not then at least she could have tried to find something more worthwhile than the violence and death she had found following him around of his vengeful crusade against Umbrella and its legacy. Chris had never thought like that concerning the woman but maybe he could convince her to look after her own future.

_Jill deserves more than this lifestyle. Even if that means away from me. With luck though we'll kill Wesker, she'll forgive me, and I will try to make her happy for however long she has left. _ That last thought caused his stomach to knot.

If Jill was taking experimental drugs to hold back and hide the infection as Chris suspected, he knew it would be only a matter of time before they too would fail and then.....

A quick knock on his door interrupted his thoughts.

_What?_

Sparing a quick glance at the clock, Chris saw it was a little more than a half-hour before midnight. He was certain everyone would have called it a night by now.

_Claire? Jill? _The latter thought got him hopeful if a bit nervous. Chris intended to try and clear the air with her, assuming she would let him.

"Just a moment." Chris called out.

Quickly Chris put his knife away and threw away the remnants of his dinner, then headed over to the door.

Opening it he saw the last person he was expecting.

"Ada?"

"Chris." The woman didn't seem to acknowledge the fact her presence had surprised him.

The woman was dressed in a red dress with a matching silk scarf around her neck. Her make up and appearance as usual was impeccable, she must have cleaned up. It certainly didn't look as though she had been running training exercises with them all day, even though she had. Chris' eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"May I come in? I have a thing or two we need to discuss." The woman's tone made the request seem like she was asking him to pass the sugar, not let a slightly provocatively dressed woman into his bedroom just before midnight.

_If I was Jill or Claire and I saw me alone with her at this hour, I'd kill me. Not that I think she's here for that, but still this woman is trouble._

Chris wasn't sure why she was here but he doubted he would like it. Against his better judgment Chris walked back towards the center of the room, leaving the door open behind him. Ada followed him in after closing the door behind her.

"What do we need to discuss at 11:30 at night that can't wait for the morning?" Chris asked her, crossing his arms over his chest.

The woman seemed to study him for a moment before answering. "I want to know how exactly you plan on dealing with Wesker. I hope you're not expecting him to play nice and inject himself."

Chris shrugged, "Honestly no matter what we plan I doubt that plan would last for more than two seconds after we encounter Wesker. We're going to have to use team work and try to gang up on him. If we can distract him then we might have a shot at injecting him."

Chris knew the plan lacked substance but their wasn't much else that could be done. Even with all three of them at their best it would require a lot of luck to bring Wesker down for good.

"I though as much. I have an alternative, but it involves a good deal of risk on your behalf," Ada voice was low as if she was telling him a secret.

"Oh and what would that be?" Chris wasn't buying into it.

Ada reached in to the contents of small hand bag she carried and gracefully withdrew something. A glare from the reflection of ceiling light blocked his view for a second but then Chris saw what she held. A small vial with some liquid, a large injection needle was placed on one end. The liquid was the same color as Wesker's eyes.

"What is it?" he asked her. His voice sounded rough in his own ears.

"Let's just say that the cure wasn't all my associates found when they discovered Birkin's lab. We found this one vial as well, a prototype to the virus Wesker subjected himself to." The woman's eyes sparked and a small smile appeared as though she knew she had caught Chris' interest.

"What's it doing here?" Chris asked.

"My employers found themselves in something of a situation. This virus if allowed to be duplicated could prove to be potentially hazardous to the balance of power that the consortium, I represent, has managed to establish through great struggle and compromise. None of them trust any of the others with this. The last thing they want is another Wesker in their ranks. Oddly enough the solution to their problem appeared in you Agent Redfield." she told him.

"If you're purposing what I'm thinking you are, forget it." Chris snapped at her.

"Hear me out. My employers can't risk this virus disrupting their alliance but they need to deal with Wesker somehow. Enter you Chris. The man who hates Albert Wesker more than anything." Ada gave him a smile before continuing.

"Face it, even if all seven of us faced Wesker together he could destroy us without hardly any effort. I spied on him for years, I know exactly what he is capable of and we don't stand a chance. You, I believe, know that as well. Here you have the chance to compete on Wesker's level and finish this. You wanted to kill Wesker Chris, well here is your weapon." Ada waved the vial around slightly as if to drive her point home. "Do you really think that you can protect any of them? Will your morality save your sister and your friends? You're a man Chris. Wesker is something more."

"Get out!" Chris snarled at the woman. "I'm not some virus infected assassin for your bosses to play with." Chris' anger was flaring and he was having a hard time keeping his voice down. Did she really think he'd go for something like that?

If his anger phased her, the woman didn't let it show. "No you're not. Nor would you need to remain infected. You do have access to three vials of the cure. Use one on Wesker and save one for yourself. Or don't use this at all." Ada bent over slightly and placed the vial on the small table near the couch. Standing back up she met Chris' eyes. "It's your decision, but be prepared to deal with the consequences of your choice."

Not saying another word the woman calmly walked out of the room acting ignorant to the storm she had created in the tired man whose world she had flipped upside down.

Chris didn't even bother to watch her go. Instead he felt his insides turn in turmoil. He dropped to a sitting position and rested his back again the side of his bed to stare at the vial from across his room. Staring at the piece of glass and liquid as if it had become a viper.

Some of what she had said made sense but he couldn't do it. Could he? Chris had spent the last eight years fighting against men who would want that power and had tried to use it, not caring how by doing so they had made the world a place to fear even more. He had dedicated his life to eradicating every last man-made virus from the Earth, what would he be if he turned his back on that now?

_Wong, one of these days I'm going to find your bosses and then they'll answer to me._

Chris had to admit Ada had known what carrot to dangle in front of him. She must have spent the last week analyzing him, finding what would be his weak spots. No wonder she hadn't seemed the least bit worried about facing Wesker, she must have planned to give this to him all along. That was why she had asked for only Leon, Jill, and him to meet with her originally. Her plan didn't need to include a full scale team. Ada would have Leon to vouch for her, Chris, with his apparently well known hatred of Wesker, to act as her weapon. And Jill..... was Jill invited because Ada had known it would be impossible to separate them or because Ada thought Jill would be a factor she could leverage in convincing Chris to go through with it?

If he had been acting alone Chris wouldn't have had a second thought about throwing it out and taking his chances versus Wesker. But if something happened to Rebecca, Barry, Leon, or worse Claire and Jill, would he be able to live with it knowing he could have prevented it? Their lives were something Chris would die a hundred times over to save if he could.

Doubts found their way into Chris' head. What if he wasn't strong enough? It had nearly cost him Jill last time.

Chris' hands found the sides of his head. He could feel them shake with anger and uncertainty as he stared at the temptation that sat on the table of his room.

Chris Redfield knew this would be another night where sleep would elude him.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic.

Jill

A small bead of perspiration trailed down the side of Jill Valentine's face. Her legs burned from being crouched for so long. She was aware of the fatigue in her muscles, but her focus was sharp. Jill felt as though she could hear the fast pounding of her heart in the otherwise silent room.

Slowly she moved out from cover sweeping the area with her eyes. She crept out silently, the butt of the automatic weapon was pressed snugly in her shoulder. They were close. Jill could feel it. Jill gazed out at the hallway they were planning on heading down. Running down its length were a number of steel crates on either side that could be used for cover. The first set were a few yards down and they would be exposed until the reached them.

Jill didn't like that.

Next to her, Claire Redfield, moved her weapon towards areas Jill was not covering. The younger woman was slightly crouched, just as Jill was, in order to provide a smaller target. She was dressed in the same padded black outfit that Jill herself was garbed in. She was sweating and looked even more tired than Jill felt. Yet her weapon was steady in her hands, as though they hadn't been holding it all day. The many training sessions had helped. Claire was getting back into the groove after being out of combat operations for so long.

As one they moved quickly but as silently as they could towards the crates.

Suddenly the hall became a torrent of gunfire. Jill threw herself down and forward, firing all the while. A projectile whizzed past her face by only a few centimeters. She ducked behind the nearest crate then looked back to see Claire taking cover behind a crate nearby. They made eye contact. Jill gave a quick nod and then the two of them broke cover to return fire. Their opponents down the hall instantly ducked down back behind the crates they were using as cover.

Jill wasted no time and sprinted for the next set of crates, while Claire kept up the cover fire. It only took her a little more than a second and then she was providing cover fire for the younger Redfield as she advanced as well. Claire's luck wasn't as good however, as both their attackers chose that moment to open up at the two women. Paintballs splattered all over the woman's training outfit.

Jill took advantage of the moment to line up her shot and she was rewarded with a stream of curses in a familiar voice.

_Ha Barry! That's for Claire!_

Jill ducked back down into cover and turned back to shoot Claire a grin to let her know she had been avenged. The redhead sighed and stood up, then began to walk away towards the training room's exit. Jill sympathized with her, she never liked to be taken out so early into a training exercise either. Still Claire had a lot to be proud of. They had run who knew how many of these drills today and Claire had done exceedingly well. The other woman was fast and accurate, and had proven she knew how to take advantage of those traits. Very accurate in fact. Claire was a natural. She could easily have been a top field agent for the BSAA if Claire had chosen that life.

_Something in the Redfield genes. _ Chris was acknowledged as _the_ BSAA marksman and he had gotten his S.T.A.R.S. badge because he had been the best shot in the Raccoon City Police Department. Claire's brother on the practice range was something to behold. His sister had apparently inherited that same talent, although it wasn't as honed by years of experience.

_Now time for the last opponent. Ready Rebecca?_

Jill tried to suppress her urge to try and end this quickly. Rebecca was Barry's partner and she had been out of the loop as long as Claire. Rebecca, though a member of the BSAA, had found her calling in medicine rather than combat. She didn't send too much time at the shooting range beyond the mandatory required hours unlike Jill. Rebecca Chambers considered herself a healer, Jill Valentine was a fighter. That wasn't to say that her friend wasn't one hell of a shot, but one on one Jill would bet on herself every single time.

Reaching down to her waist, Jill pulled a smoke grenade and threw it from her cover.

_Patient now._

Jill waited until the smoke became to collect blocking her view of the hall but also blinding Rebecca to Jill's movements. Jill began to run in place to make sounds also though she was using the concealment of the smoke to advance on her opponents position. She, however, stayed in the same position. Hidden by the set of crates she had been using for cover, Jill waited for the smoke to clear. It was a small trick. Convince the enemy you were advancing on them and their sights would be aimed move towards the cover nearer to them. The idea was to let the sharpshooter in the back stay in place so they would get maybe a little more time when the came out of cover to line up their shot. It wasn't in all truth a very good trick, in fact it was one Jill had rarely ever used and it would only work one on one. With a team on your side or a team against you it was a worthless trick, but right now it was just Jill and Rebecca. The circumstances allowed her to use it so Jill figured she might as well.

In a swift move, Jill exploded in to action. She broke cover and set her sights down towards the other end of the hall. Jill smirked as she saw the surprise in her friends movements. A quick burst later and Jill was victor.

Pulling off her goggles, Jill shot her opponent a cocky smile.

"Better luck next time," Jill yelled out to Rebecca.

"I wouldn't say that yet," Rebecca shouted back.

_What?_

Then Jill realized that the training room's lights hadn't all come on which would signal the end of the drill. The exercise wasn't over.

A sharp pain exploded in her back and she swore loudly.

That was when the lights came on.

Spinning around Jill found Christopher Redfield exiting cover, dressed in the same padded black training suits as the rest of them. The offending weapon resting comfortably in his hands.

_Son of a......how did he get in here without me seeing it?_

The sight of him raised Jill's hackles and fact he had just taken her down added to her annoyance. Realization came to her then and Jill felt her face flush with embarrassment. Chris had been the drill room before either team had entered. He had been hiding the whole time and planning on going after whoever won all along.

It was an old training trick that Wesker had made use of more than once when he had taken over command of S.T.A.R.S. In combat simulations you tended to know who you were up against and what exactly were the odds against you. In paired off simulations like the one Jill had just run, she had known all along her opponents would be Barry and Rebecca. Once Jill had taken down both of them she had assumed she was the victor. The idea of having another team or person in the training room was to remind the trainee's that you never knew the numbers against you so don't get sloppy. The mission wasn't over until you were safe at home, which the bright lights represented. The fact that Chris had just nailed her on something Jill should have known better about was embarrassing. She should have expect him to try something like that at some point.

They had been running these drills nearly non-stop for the last two days. It had been good for everyone so far. Even Jill, who felt she was on the top of her game had noticed a small improvement in her skills. The drills changed each time. Sometime it was a free for all, other times it was a multiteam competition, or a team was given an objective while the other two teams were to provide resistance. It had been keeping everyone sharp even if the numerous runs left everyone drained at the end of the day. The training room was wonderful. It was a level of the complex on its own. Sometimes the battles would be restricted to a sole room and others it would range the whole level. Grudgingly Jill had to admit Chris had been doing a great job at keeping the exercises fresh, whether it was changing the objectives or physically moving cover or obstacles to change the battlefield.

_We're as ready as we can be by this point._

Taking off his own goggles, Chris strode up to her. His face was devoid of any triumph or gloating but he wore a cautious smile for her. As if he was unsure of how to approach her.

"Nice tactic with the smoke grenade," he complimented her.

He should have been chiding her, but instead he was congratulating her? Jill figured that Chris must have chosen to refrain from commenting so as not to set her off, considering her hostility towards him over the last two days. She felt anger enter her system. It was anger brought on from her own carelessness, but she chose to direct at her partner anyway. She was getting sick of his attempts to bridge the distance between them, which Jill knew was the reason for the praise rather than the criticism she deserved.

"Is that what you'd be putting on my tombstone? Jill Valentine, friend, partner, good tactician? Well too bad it's not true. I just got killed by a rookie's mistake and we both know it so don't play ignorant." Jill said with more than a little bite.

Chris' upper body jerked back a bit at her tone. His forehead scrunched up in surprise and he looked a bit hurt by the heat in her words.

"I didn't mean anything by it, Jill." Chris told her in a defensive voice.

He tried to make eye contact, but Jill avoided it by turning her head to look back at Rebecca who was now talking with Claire and Barry. They were laughing and for all the exhaustion they had to be feeling, seemed in good spirits.

_Unlike me. _

"Fine. Just let me know when you want me to run the next drill," she told him curtly then started to walk off in order to join the other 3 people in the room.

She only made about half the distance before guilt began to worm itself into her heart. Jill stopped then looked over her shoulder to the man whose presence she had just left. Chris' back was already turned towards her and he was walking towards the room's exit. His shoulder's were hunched in defeat and she could see from his stance that the tension that had been with him ever since they had gotten off the plane was even more prominent. Everyday since they had arrived in Italy it had gotten progressively worse and Chris had begun to seem more and more stretched thin. When Jill had first seen him this morning, Chris had looked terrible. She was sure he hadn't slept with such large dark circles under his eyes and for the first time since their fight she had felt sorry for him.

Chris was an obsessive person. Even before they had left the US, Jill had known he would be stressing over the littlest of details. When your friends and family were on the line there was no room for failure. Still this seemed too much for even Chris Redfield's personality. Had their fight affected him that badly?

It was frustrating that despite the fact Jill wanted to be angry at him, she found she still wanted him around. After nearly a decade of continued exposure to Chris Redfield, she had gotten used to his near constant presence. When he wasn't around Jill couldn't help but notice, with some annoyance, she missed his company and thought of him more than she should.

Chris had tried numerous times over the last two days to speak with her, but every time Jill had found an excuse to leave or had managed to make sure he couldn't speak with her alone. Jill was still more than just outraged with him, but at this point her worry was beginning to take over her anger towards him. The operation was tomorrow, and they would have to be up well before dawn to make their approach. Her partner need to find some rest. If Chris was hell-bent on facing Wesker, he couldn't do it exhausted.

_Facing him without me. _

The thought still caused a pang of hurt, but not nearly as strong as before. Even as upset as she was, Jill couldn't help but be a little unsettled about Chris' behavior over the last few days. He seemed to be getting very little sleep, he was avoiding contact with most of the team outside of training, and his mind seemed to be preoccupied whenever he wasn't focused on training or talking to someone.

Still, even though he was obviously worse for wear, Chris didn't give a hint of it in his interactions. That was what bothered Jill the most. When Chris was visibly upset or short tempered then he was acting normal for Chris Redfield under stressful conditions. Not acting in that fashion was something Jill was unaccustomed to. On some level it reminded Jill of when Chris had gone out on his own and secretly been researching Umbrella to track down evidence of the G-Virus after the incident in the Arklay Mansion. The difference was then Chris had been short tempered, although it had been an act so he would work himself into a suspension. He had even started a fight over a small spill of coffee just so he would get time off from the department to continue his research. Despite all of that, Chris acted perfectly normal with both Jill and Barry, as if nothing was going on. At first she had thought he had been suffering from PTSD but instead Chris had just been playing everyone. She had been caught totally by surprise when he had revealed to her what he had been doing. He had managed to hide it from them perfectly she recalled with a bit of resentment.

When Chris was obviously under stress and didn't act like it Jill knew something was up. He seemed torn about something. Something he wasn't talking about.

_Is he reconsidering letting me go with him? Or is he just worried I'll go through with my threat and take off when this is over?_

Jill paused, considering for a moment if she could convince the others to pull Chris from the mission. They had no doubt noticed their leader's appearance and she had heard more than a few whispers of concern. She doubted that she would be able convince them however. Despite the exhaustion Chris had to be feeling, he was still pushing himself harder than the rest. It was hard to argue that someone was exhausted when he still seemed to find the energy to do more than anyone else.

_Besides short of handcuffing him to something, he'd find a way onto that chopper. _That was Chris Redfield for you, more stubborn than a boulder.

"Jill, are you okay?" a feminine voice asked in concern from behind her.

Realizing she was just staring at the door Chris had left through, Jill felt another wave of embarrassment flow through her.

Turning back to her company Jill answered quickly to cover, "Yeah I'm fine. Your brother looks like a zombie though."

Claire tilted her head slightly and gave Jill a smirk that reminded her of Chris, "You're not planning on shooting him are you?" the red-head asked drly.

_Well I think I can safely say the others have picked up on the tension between us._

"Maybe." Jill gave the younger Redfield a small smile to let her know she was teasing, "You did well on the drills today." Jill wanted to change the subject.

"Thanks, but you're not getting off that easily. Why won't you let him talk to you?" From Claire's tone she wasn't badgering her, but Jill knew Claire meant to drag it out of her.

"I'm sure you know why. We were supposed to go after Wesker together, finish this together. We're partners and instead he goes off on his own and saddles me with someone else," Jill ranted. "No offense," Jill quickly added after realizing the younger woman might take it as an insult.

Claire sighed then rolled her eyes at her. "Don't be too harsh on him, Wesker tends to make him not see straight."

"That's an understatement." Jill muttered. If Chris Redfield had a weakness it was his hatred of Albert Wesker. Chris could be kind and thoughful but he was also a very vengeful person against anyone he percieved as an enemy.

The two women stood in silence for a moment. Jill felt slightly awkward, but Claire seemed perfectly comfortable. It was an old habit, Jill had never liked talking to Claire about anything serious between her and Chris. Feelings of any kind, whether anger, annoyance, or warm, were considered serious by Jill Valentine. Jill was surprised she had let herself vent even a little about Chris' actions to the younger Redfield.

"You should make sure he stops the drills early tonight. We're as ready as we can get in this sort amount of time and you ought to make sure he gets to sleep early. Your brother doesn't look like he's managed to really rest in the last few days." Jill told her.

Claire's brow furrowed in thought. She must have been sharing the same opinion on Chris' sleeping habits.

"I left him sometime around eleven. I thought he would pass right out." Claire voiced her thoughts allowed.

"Tuck him in tonight," Jill answered wryly.

Claire shot her a look. "When does my brother ever listen to me? You're the one he listens to." There was slight note of bitterness in the young woman's voice.

_Not always. _It was odd, Claire almost sounded jealous. That thought made no sense to her. Sure she spent more time with Chris, but Claire was his priority.

"Make him listen," was all she offered.

"Come on Jill, you know he's torn up about you two fighting and you haven't even let him try and explain himself." Claire said.

"I let him explain himself after the briefing. It wasn't enough. He knows how important this is to me. We were going to finish this together." Jill defended herself.

Claire gave her a looked that Jill didn't quite get. "If you let him explain himself then you know he has some points. You're the explosives expert so it's kind of essential you don't get killed. Like say fighting Wesker. Personally I'd much rather have you with him, but you unfortunately have another job to do. One that only you can do. On top of that Chris wouldn't ever put someone in danger without taking the same risks. He's not going to send someone against Wesker without going himself. Get used to it. I had to."

Jill was stunned a moment by Claire's bluntness before recovering, "We could have modified the plan or could have trained someone to...."

"Jill, let me tell you something I never told you or my brother," the red-head interrupted. "Back when Chris pulled me out of Antarctica, away from Wesker and Alexia Ashford, I asked him to not leave me alone again. I had just been through so much in such a little time and I had just watched a friend die for me so I really needed him there you know?"

Claire paused for Jill's nod before continuing.

"Well he didn't promise me anything, he said we needed to finish Umbrella instead. So we went back underground and I thought it would be the two of us fighting, brother and sister. Then one day Barry Burton shows up with you and from then on it was you and Chris taking all the big risks. It didn't matter where we were: Paris, Germany, and Russia, you were the one he brought with him and I ended working with Barry and Rebecca. At first I was pissed at you. Oh sure I knew that were his partner from S.T.A.R.S., I'd seen pictures of you and heard him talk about you dozens of times, but honestly I thought you were just some skirt he was chasing. That outfit you showed up in after Raccoon City didn't do much to convince me otherwise."

Jill felt heat in her face. She certainly hadn't planned on having to escape the destruction of Raccoon City in a skirt and tube top, but after the city was destroyed it was all she owned. She had been able only to buy a few pieces of clothes with the cash Barry had on them. They had been unable to use their credit cards or ATMs in case Umbrella was trying to track their movements so she basically had only one or two things to wear. She must have looked like an idiot showing up dressed like that in the middle of the French winter.

"But then I realized that your skill set was what determined why you were there. You had more combat experience and infiltration skills, so overtime I grew to accept it and later I preferred knowing you were with him. Still I was hurt, and Chris never chose to have me go with him because the mission always demanded your skills. So I get why you're angry, but this time the mission needs you elsewhere." Claire told her.

Jill considered Claire's words. She didn't know what to think. She was still angry and didn't agree, but maybe she should cut Chris a break. The question was however, did he make his choice because that was the best plan he could think of or because he was trying to protect her. Chris was a protective person, but he had never decided what risks she couldn't take. Jill wasn't sure it would make a difference in either case, but at least she would know if he was trying to a good team leader or a man trying to protect someone he cared about. She wondered whether Claire's opinion would be the same if Jill told her she and Chris had become more than 'just partners.'

_Or maybe her opinion of you will change and she'll go back to thinking you actually are just some skirt. _

That wasn't likely, Claire and Jill had known each other too long and had become good friends in their own right. At first they had been united by the common concern they shared for the eldest Redfield, but over time they had developed their own relationship. Still she wasn't ready to have _that_ conversation with Chris' sister. Not yet at least, considering Jill wasn't actually sure where she stood with Chris these days.

Claire interrupted Jill's thoughts once more, "And besides if everything goes according to plan and we avoid Wesker entirely, you get to be the one who pushes the button and blows his ass up."

This time Jill laughed. "Alright Claire. I won't promise anything, but I'll talk to him."

"Glad to hear it." The red-head leaned in conspiratorially, "Oh and don't tell him I talked to you."

_So she's going behind Chris' back in talking to me?_

"I won't. You know you've become much wiser than the girl who stole her brother's bike but forgot to get money for gas." Jill felt the corners of her lips rise.

The smile fell off the younger Redfield's face. "He told you about that?"

"Don't worry about it, just remind me to tell you about a place called Club Reyes sometime." Jill winked at her. "Come on let's go join the others."

"Club Reyes?" Claire questioned, obviously unfamiliar with it.

"I'll tell you about it some either time," Jill said grabbing Claire's arm to take the woman with her.

Jill started to walk in the direction of the rest of the team, her mind working hard. She had a lot to think about. The mission was early tomorrow morning so she didn't have long to decided how she was going to handle it. Claire had flat out called Jill out on questioning the validity of Chris' plan. Jill had to admit the plan was as good as anything she would have come up with, but she still wanted to be there if Chris' team ran into their old captain. Just as Claire said, Chris didn't think straight about around Wesker. What if his anger flared and took over causing him to make a fatal mistake? What if she wasn't there and he needed her?

In her minds eye Jill could see Wesker lifting Chris up like a doll, his arm moved back into a killing blow. Jill had been afraid then she wouldn't be fast enough to stop it. More afraid than she thought was possible, she had been down right terrified. She had been lucky. It had been in that moment Jill had known Chris Redfield was more important to her than anything, even her life.

Jill had no misconceptions that she would be able to be a deciding factor against Wesker. No, any fight against the former S.T.A.R.S. captain would be pure chaos and if they did win it would be with equal parts luck and skill. Hell, she was pretty sure even Chris didn't expect they could win that fight. The man was stubborn beyond belief, but he wasn't stupid. The plan was to try and kill Wesker in the explosion that destroyed the complex. Chris was counting on Wesker's tendency to allow his lackeys to do his work for him to give them the time they needed to get in and out. It was a gamble that could or could not pay off.

If it didn't then Jill wanted to be there. She had always made sure Chris came home and he had always made sure she did as well. Together they were a force to be reckoned with and Jill didn't want that to change. She knew Chris had thought that as well so she knew something had spooked him. Spooked him bad. Whether it was the last fight against Wesker or their budding relationship Jill couldn't say, but she needed to find out.

Jill took one last glance at the door her partner left through.

_I wish I knew what was going on in that head of yours._

Jill Valentine had a lot to think about.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Jill reached down and turned the shower's handle to off.

After two consecutive days of non-stop exercises, the warm water and steam did wonders to loosen her sore muscles.

It was a little after 7pm local time. Claire had managed to convince Chris to call an early end to the drills about two hours ago. The minute he had, it seemed the entire team had taken off to eat dinner. Dinner had been surprisingly relaxing, no one talked about the impending missions and the risks they would all be taking tomorrow. Instead everyone had been telling stories to make the table laugh and in a short period of time a strong sense of camaraderie had developed between members of team. It had helped reduce the tension that everyone was hiding.

Well everyone except Ada and Chris. Ada always took off to her quarters after grabbing some food. The woman had no inclination towards becoming one of them and that was fine by Jill. Chris, on the other hand, Jill had no idea where he was keeping himself. After dinner Jill had tried to find him to finally make an attempt to sort out the issues between them to no avail. He hadn't been in the training room, the shooting range, the gym, or his quarters. Eventually Jill had asked Barry who told her that Chris and Leon had taken one of the jeeps out for a drive. Jill resigned herself to cleaning up and had headed back to shower.

The steam started to dissipate and Jill stepped out of the shower grabbing a towel then began to dry herself before throwing on a pair of light tan pants and one of her blue tanktops. She moved to the mirror and began to comb her wet hair back. Jill grimaced as she worked out a knot or two. Her own reflection caught her attention in the mirror and she stared at it appraisingly. With her hair grown out longer and now combed back she looked more feminine than she usually tried to be. A life working in a predominately male line of work meant she didn't always take time to make herself highlight her femininity, but when she got the opportunity Jill always enjoyed it. She might be considered by others more a tomboy than not, but that didn't mean she didn't like to remind herself she was still a fairly attractive young woman. Jill had ignored that fact for years now but lately it seemed to matter more. Perhaps it was because she had left her twenties behind now.

_Bull. It's always been important to you Valentine and you know exactly why its been on your mind more of late._

A knock sounded on the door to her room. She knew that knock.

_Speaking of which._

Jill took a second to take a deep breathe and expel her emotions, both good and bad. She doubted the person outside and her would see eye to eye tonight but she needed to give it a shot. That meant she needed to be clear headed. Jill just hoped he would be as well.

"Coming," Jill called out as she walked to the door. A memory of a similar moment crossed her mind. It wasn't that long ago when she had been anxiously awaiting his company and wishing for an evening without too much awkwardness. Back then she had thought the ghosts of her past were avenged and hoped her life might be heading in a new direction. Tonight Jill had no idea what would happen.

Opening the door she saw Chris Redfield. It looked like he had showered as well, since his brown hair was wet just like hers. Wet it almost seemed to be slightly spiked like how Chris had worn his hair in his youth. It was more a result of water in his hair not any work on his behalf though. Chris still looked weary but it looked like some of the fatigue had evaporated. Not much but some. He was wearing only a white undershirt and pair of jeans. In his hands he held a hand towel that looked like he had wrapped something in it.

_Curious._

"Hey," Chris greeted her. His voice was that soft tone Chris used when they were alone, despite that Jill could see he was nervous at this confrontation.

"Hey," she greeted back, trying to sound normal. Jill was sure it didn't work.

"Barry said you were looking for me?" he asked her.

"That's right," Jill acknowledged.

They stood their just looking at each other for a moment. Both struck by the wedge driven between them. Chris' blue eyes were unusually guarded tonight.

Chris consciously cleared his throat, "Did you need to see me about something?"

Snapping out of her examination of him Jill motioned him inside. He complied and she shut the door behind him. Jill let out a silent breath.

_Well this is easy. _Jill didn't appreciate her mind's sarcasm.

Chris fidgeted unconsciously under her gaze as he stood in the center of her room, tapping the palm of his left hand against the top of the loose fist his right hand had become. He raised his eyebrows to indicate he was waiting for her to start.

Jill decided to not jump right into it and get to the heart of the matter. It would be better to work into it.

"Are you okay? You look like you haven't slept." She asked him.

Chris seemed surprised by her line of questions, he stopped fidgeting and instead his brow furrowed. He must have been expecting her to asking him questions about tomorrow.

"I'm as well as you would expect," Chris told her.

"Are you sleeping?" Jill pressed him.

"As much as I can find," he responded after a pause.

That told her what she suspect, he hadn't been sleeping. Jill narrowed her eyes.

Chris seemed to study her for a second before continuing, "You didn't ask me here to discuss my sleeping habits did you Jill?"

_Well not just that._

"No," she admitted, "but you look tired. You need rest."

Rather than argue with her Chris just nodded, "Thanks for worrying, but I'll be alright."

Jill bit her lip and decided not to press the point any further. Jill still didn't know how to really begin this conversation and she searched her mind for the words.

Chris however spared her, "Look I know we have a lot to talk about but I need to ask you a favor first."

_A favor? Keeping an eye on your sister isn't enough?_

Jill gave a mirthless laugh. "You're running up quite the tab Chris. What is it?" She asked.

Chris handed her the hand towel he still held. He seemed hesitant about it for a moment then thrust in her hands.

"Keep that away from me. Give it to Rebecca or destroy it I don't care but whatever you do never use it." There was a sense of discomfort in his voice.

Jill glanced down to the package in her hand and began to unfold the towel. Something was in it and Jill's curiosity began to build. Then she saw it. It was a small vial with a button press injection needle attached to one end. A white label was stuck onto one side of the vial. There she saw the familiar white and red Umbrella logo and next to were group of numbers. Underneath them were the words ' Wesker, A - Virus Prototype.'

Jill felt her body snap taut in surprise and she nearly let go of the vial. She felt her eyes widen and her head shot up to look at her partner.

_What? How?_

"Where did you get this? How long have you had it?" Jill words came out in a rush.

If anything Chris looked more uncomfortable. "Ada stopped by my room last night asking me my plan for how to deal with Wesker if we do actually run into him. Apparently she got the impression I just intend to wing it. She gave me that and told me to use it." He fell quiet and watched for her reaction.

"SHE WHAT?" Jill couldn't believe her ears.

_That bitch! _Jill's anger surged and she suddenly had a better understanding of the phrase 'seeing red.' Violent images flashed through her mind for a second. All involved a dark-haired woman with a fondness for the color red.

Then a horrible thought entered here mind and Jill took a step toward Chris and pointed the vial at him.

"You weren't _actually_ considering using this were you," Jill demanded.

Chris hesitated in answering once more and Jill found her answer.

"SON OF A BITCH CHRIS! WHAT IN THE HELL IS A MATTER WITH YOU?" Jill's hope of having a calm discussion went right out the window.

Chris flinched as she yelled at him, but didn't back down. "I considered it. That's all. We have the cure for Wesker's version of the virus and I though.......what I thought doesn't matter. I'm not going to use it nor is anyone else going get the chance to. I've spent my life trying to destroy things like that and that's not going to change. Not even to make sure Wesker can't hurt anyone else."

Chris' nervousness faded by the time he done speaking and in its place remained resolve. The steel was back in his voice now and met Jill's heated gaze unflinchingly.

Jill meanwhile was shaking with anger and confusion. She couldn't believe he had actually considered infecting himself. Didn't he understand what a nightmare that was. She had been forced to live with that for years and the thought of Chris becoming infected made her sick.

"Why? Why would you even consider it? Wesker isn't worth it Chris," Jill's voice cracked. From what she wasn't sure.

"No he isn't," Chris readily agreed, "he wasn't why I considered it." He left the rest unsaid.

Jill tried to calm herself down. Why was she so emotional? Chris was the hot-head not her and right now he was the calm one.

_You just can't stomach the thought of anything happening to him. You don't really care who finishes Wesker so long as everyone comes home. _Jill pushed the thought out of her mind. Now was not the time for flashes of self-awareness.

"You can't think Claire or anyone else would be okay with this," she told him.

A small private smile found its way onto his lips.

"I know that, Jill. I wouldn't be okay with it either. The problem is that I would be more okay with it than I would with seeing someone get hurt because I wouldn't do it. That's why I want you to depose of it. I don't even want to think about it anymore," he confessed.

Jill mulled it over in silence. That was the Chris Redfield she knew. He would go to the ends of the Earth or pay any price to save a friend. After seeing his friends in S.T.A.R.S. die before in, his home destroyed, his surviving friends and sister hunted - Chris' desire to help his friends had only intensified. Jill had always wondered if his obsessive hatred of Wesker was born out of equal parts for the betrayal and, she speculated, a perception Chris had that he failed his team members.

Jill put the vial down on a nearby counter and turned back to Chris. She watched him a moment longer without responding. His eyes were clear and focused. His jaw set. Jill wondered if he expect her to yell at him more. Deciding that would get her no where Jill took a second to calm herself down a little more then chose to change tactics.

"Fine you want me to do that? Well I have some terms of my own. I want the truth. First, what else have you been hiding from me?" Jill fixed her eyes on his looking for deception.

_So help me Chris if you try to use one of your bluffing faces you use in poker, I'll shoot you right here, right now._

He didn't. Instead Chris' face seemed to darken just a bit. "_I'm _not hiding anything from you," there was something in his voice. His expression almost made Jill feel like he was glowering at her. That was odd, but she must be misreading him. Chris wasn't the easiest person to read, even after all this time but she believed him that he wasn't hiding anything else.

"Alright then. Second and no bullshit. Why did you want Leon and Ada going with you rather than me?" Jill's voice made it clear she wanted every reason.

Chris sighed, "I told you already. The team heading for the lab is the most likely to run into Wesker, three people should go with that team. I had already agreed to let Leon keep an eye on Ada. That really left you or I going with them. I chose me and teamed you up with Claire. Maybe it was selfish, but if someone has to face him I want it to be me. Besides you are the only one trained to handle the detonators and you're the backup team leader. We both know you don't send the primary and the backup together so they can be take out at once."

"That's all?" Jill asked.

Chris' defiance seemed to deflate a little and his voice lowered, "You almost died trying to save me from Wesker last time. I couldn't deal with it if something happened."

_I knew it! _There was a little satisfaction in getting him to admit it. Anger as well.

"And you think I could? Damn it Chris, did you even stop to think you might actually be important to someone other than Claire?" Jill's anger found its way back into her voice, but not all of it.

That was unexpected for Jill. She had never liked it when some tried to act like she need protection. That was one of the things Jill loved about working with Chris, he maybe protective but he didn't try to dictate the risks she took. Or rather he hadn't. She knew she should be more upset right now, but instead of anger she felt more frustration. Frustration that he didn't seem to understand Jill had the same worries and that she was afraid if she wasn't there Wesker would actually land that death blow this time.

Chris didn't answer her instead he lowered his voice more, "And you're sick." It was a whisper this time. Jill barely heard him.

_Come again?_

"What did you say?" Jill asked as confusion replaced some of her anger.

"Why didn't you tell me you were infected with the T-Virus?" Chris' voice was hard and pained. His eyes found the ground as if he had lost the strength to continue the eye contact.

Nothing could have prepared Jill for those words. Shocked didn't begin to describe how she felt. Jill just stood there wondering if she had imagined him saying that. The only thing that convinced her of the reality of his words was the expression of his face. Just as hard and pained as his voice had sounded.

Even though she had thought it was behind her, the old fear and self-revulsion surfaced. Jill felt the blood leave her face.

_He couldn't possibly know? _She had done her best to hide that from him. It was the one thing about her Jill had never wanted him to know.

"Wha....what are you talking about?" Jill managed to stutter.

"I saw your medical records Jill," Chris raised his eye back to her. In his dark blue eyes were something that Jill never expected to see so unguarded. Raw emotional pain. His eyes were whirlpools of distress.

Jill opened her mouth to respond, but the words escaped her.

_How did he get a hold of them? Did Rebecca show him my records?_ Jill doubted that. Rebecca wouldn't do that, not to her.

Chris moved from the center of the room and sat down on the edge of her bed. He started to fiddle with his hands again. His blue eyes were riveted on her face and Jill found it hard to look at him. Still he remained silent, awaiting an answer Jill didn't want to give him.

"How did you find out?" She asked at last. This time her voice had become as quiet as his.

"I grabbed the wrong file. I thought yours was mine. When I saw it was yours and just how many blood tests you had been taking I knew something was wrong," he confessed, "that's when I saw it."

Jill just nodded, processing the information.

"How long have you known?" she questioned.

"I found out on the flight over," Chris told her, "Why didn't you tell me? I could have helped, I could have...." his voice sounded strained.

"There's nothing for you to do Chris," she told him more sharply than she intended. Her anger in regards to their prior argument found its way in. "And I didn't tell you because it was personal. I didn't want you to know."

Chris looked like she had hit him and Jill felt guilt edge its way into her anger. Drowning it.

"Is this why you have been acting off?" Jill demanded.

"Acting off?" Chris voice started to rise as his own anger finally started to emerge. "You try planning a mission that could get the last of your family and your friends killed. And on top it find out the woman that....has been your partner for nearly a decade is infected with a virus that destroyed your life. So yeah the answer to your question is that its been on my mind." Chris end his last words with biting sarcasm. "You wanted the truth from me, well you got it. Now _I _want the truth. How did it happen?"

Jill sighed and sat down in the middle of the floor, crossing her legs. She felt tired and weak. This was never something that was pleasant to think about not to mention speak about. She had only told Rebecca up to this point, but if anyone had deserved to know it was him.

She met his eyes and stared at them for a second. There was anger, pain, and fear in them. He needed to know.

"Alright but we aren't done talking about the mission. Deal?" Jill asked.

Chris seemed to bite back his anger and nodded at her.

_That will have to do. _

"It happened in Raccoon City, when I was trying to escape." Jill started. "Umbrella sent some new type of Tyrant called Nemesis after the members of S.T.A.R.S. Maybe they thought they would be able to hush up the fact the whole mess was their fault, I don't know, but it followed orders and it was resilient. By then you, Barry, and Rebecca had already left and it was only Brad and I. It got Brad then came after me."

_And did it ever. _She could still it saying 'S.T.A.R.S.' Jill paused trying to shake off the horrible memories. Chris' expression looked distraught like he wanted to comfort her but he remained seated on her bed, listening.

"I don't know how many times I had to fight it, but during one fight it managed to infect me. I killed it just before I escaped the city's destruction." Jill told him.

"Why didn't you tell me when we finally reconnected?" Chris asked. His voice was back to that whisper where she could barely hear him, as if he was afraid to hurt her ears by speaking too loud.

Jill just shook her head, "I couldn't. It was too raw to speak of."

"And later?"

"And later I didn't want you to know. One of things that helped me make peace with what happened at Raccoon City was the work we did in the resistance against Umbrella. I didn't want you to treat me any different. I just wanted to forget about it and go on with my life." Jill admitted. "I had Rebecca keep a close eye on the infection until it finally went away."

Chris spine seemed to jerk forward, "Went away? Jill, a T-Virus infection just doesn't go away. Don't worry I swear I won't tell the BSAA or anyone else. Are you on experimental drugs? Is Rebecca altering your current test results? Are you..."

Jill stopped listening and suddenly she realized what was going on, "Wait. Chris do you still think I'm infected?"

Chris face became a mask of confusion, "I admit I don't really know much about some on the new experimental measures of fighting the viruses but people don't get better from the T-Virus, Jill. You don't have to lie to me."

_That explains so much._

Jill moved from the floor to stand on her knees right before him as he sat on the corner of her bed. Taking his hands in hers, she looked up straight into his eyes to be sure she had his full attention and he wouldn't be too caught up in his own thoughts and fears.

"Chris, listen to me. Before I left the city, someone I was traveling with, who happened to work for the U.B.C.S., managed to synthesize a vaccine for me. It took years but the vaccine did its work. Rebecca can't find any traces of the virus in me. I'm okay." She spoke slowly making sure he caught every word.

Chris raked his eyes over her face as if he was unsure to believe her. He wanted to, Jill could see that much, but seemed afraid to believe it. Too many years of bad luck had ingrained in them both a reflex to doubt good news.

"Jill are you sure? What if Reb..." he started.

"Chris, really I'm fine. I doubted it too. That was reason for all the tests even after Rebecca said she couldn't find anything. I passed every one." Jill used her thumbs to begin a slow caress of the hands she held.

And just like that the stress and tension that seemed to be eating away at him seemed to disappear in a wave of relief so strong Jill could physically feel it. A second later she realized Chris had pulled her up and they were standing as he held her in a strong embrace.

"Thank you," Jill thought she heard Chris whisper into her hair. Jill knew it wasn't meant for her ears.

She let him stay like that for a while. Neither talked. Jill just ran her fingers through his still wet hair as he held her with one of his arms wrapped around her neck while the other still held her hand. Her mind was still unsure that he had actually found out, that they had just had that conversation. It hadn't been as frightening as Jill had always imagined it would be. She would not have guessed the strong effect it would have on him either. In that moment Jill Valentine was reminded why Chris Redfield was always the one she turned too. She would never find a man who cared as strongly for her as he did. Jill had always known he had cared and for years suspected he cared more than he'd admit, but to see it so unconcealed before her eyes....

Jill Valentine knew then she was a fool for ever doubting he could feel about her that way.

"Was this what was causing you to act so strangely?" she propped herself on her toes to whisper in his ear. She already knew the answer.

Chris let go of her and took a step back to offer her space. Jill noted the fatigue seemed to be gone and instead there was an energy that hadn't been there before.

"Yeah, when I saw your file I just panicked. I thought you might have been hiding it from me because I might have been responsible, that I hadn't watched out for you like I should have. Not that it would have changed anything. I just didn't want to place you at risk again. You've risked enough for me," he admitted.

Jill opened her mouth to speak but Chris gestured to let him continue.

"Just so you know I didn't base my decision on how to place you in the mission on that. I'm not saying it didn't affect my decision, but I really did do it because tactically I thought it was the best choice." Chris told her and then met her eyes, "Look I know this is important to you so I took a little drive with Leon earlier and asked him if he would consent to changing places. After some bargaining he agreed even if it was reluctant."

Jill felt the smile return to her face. She had no idea what Chris had to agree to in order to get Leon to go along with it but right now she didn't care.

"Took you long enough," she told him. She laughed for some reason she didn't know.

Chris looked a bit bashful, "Yeah well its up to you now. I don't know what to do about the detonators, but if you have an idea I'm listening. Whatever else you might think Jill, I trust your judgment."

Jill thought about it for a while. As absolutely annoying as it was to admit it, especially given the fact she had won Chris over to her side, Jill knew tactically he had made the right choice. There was no way she would have been able to training someone about the ins-and-outs of handling the detonators if something went wrong. Sure if everything went right it would be as easy as pressing a few buttons but to count on everything working during a mission was, in Jill's experience, bad practice.

A good leader need contingencies in case something failed. As much as she hated it, Jill was Chris' contingency for both the detonators and for command of the mission if he was incapacitated. Claire unfortunately had been right and Jill knew it. If she agreed to go with Claire however, Jill knew herself well enough to know she couldn't promise to stay out of any confrontation with Wesker. If it came down to that she would hand over the detonators to Claire, hope for the best, and go after her partner. Until it reached that point she would have to keep her fingers crossed that luck would be on their side and they would be able to avoid their old captain so they could complete the mission as planned - confrontation free.

_You better not make a comment about this Redfield._

Jill sighed, "I guess I'll just have to trust your judgment this time. I'll stay with Claire. I think we've started to get used to how the other works," Jill fixed him with a hard stare, "Don't make me regret it." 'Be careful' was what Jill had wanted to say, but her pride had made her change the words.

_Don't think I won't come after you if you run into trouble. _Jill kept those thoughts to herself. Chris didn't need to know.

Chris for his part, did his best not to let his pleasure at her decision be seen. He didn't quiet manage it, as a smile broke out on his face, but the effort was there.

"Don't worry, I've got big plans for the rest of my life," he assured her.

Jill raised her eyebrows at that. "Big plans huh?"

"A topic for another time," he said as he glanced at the room's clock. Upon seeing the time Chris tilted his head toward the door, "It's late I should get going. We have to be gone before dawn."

"Yeah, I suppose you should," Jill agreed.

A cloak of sadness seemed to drape itself across her shoulders. She didn't want him to go. Two days of flat out avoiding him had made her miss his company. Now that her anger had left her, Jill wanted to spend longer in his comforting presence.

_Only with Chris Redfield can I go from pissed to wanting him to hang around in just the span of a few minutes._ That information Jill planned to keep to herself as well.

Chris bid her goodnight and left.

As Jill closed the door behind him, she turned and leaned her back against the door. Her mind was stuck in a curious mix of replaying their discussion and her anxiousness of tomorrow's operation. Smiling, Jill turned her mind back to the palpable relief she had felt when she had told Chris she was no longer infected. She felt cared for, she felt important to him, she felt.......

Suddenly something Chris had said seemed to explode in her mind.

Jill whirled and opened the door in a rush to follow him.

"Chris!" she called.

Chris had only gotten part way down the hall, heading towards his own room. He turned, surprise on his face.

"Yeah?" he said softly while making a face to indicate to be quiet since the others were probably sleeping.

Jill walked right up to him and made sure she caught his gaze with hers.

"Just a little ago, when I asked you why you were acting off, you said you were worried about the everyone's safety. Then when you talked about my situation you said 'the woman that' and you paused a second before finishing with us being partners for nearly a decade." Jill blurted.

"That's what I said." He acknowledged. Clearly he wasn't following her train of thought.

_Here it goes._

"Were you going to say something else?"

_Like that I love..._

Understanding came into Chris dark blue eyes. No not just understanding, Jill realized with some hope, but something else as well.

"Yeah I was," Chris' voice had changed once more to that soft reassuring tone. His eyes told her what his voice had not.

Anxiety and nervousness entered Jill's stomach one last time for the day. This time it was a completely different reason however. She found it difficult to focus. Difficult to breathe.

"So you are in...." Jill trailed off. Silently begging him to answer.

"With you Jill," Chris' voice was hushed and gentle.

An emotional whirlwind took off inside of her, one Jill was in no way equipped to sort through. The only thing she knew was that it left her intoxicated.

Her body reacted without conscious direction, a hand grabbing the back of his neck pulling his face down to hers. She captured his lips and the spark that had always been their ignited into a firestorm. The hesitancy and awkwardness of their first few attempts at that sort of contact were gone. In its place was the love and passion they had denied for too long. Jill gave herself over to it.

Blindly they stumbled their way back towards Jill's room. Jill felt they brush against the corridor's halls more than once but they did not break the contact. The second they passed through her door Chris' hands found her hips and began to caress the skin just under the end of her top. It sent tingles through out her body and caused Jill's hands to begin their own slow caresses in answer.

It continued on until the back of Jill's legs touched the edge of her bed and it was then that Chris broke them apart reluctantly. It was equal parts frustrating and welcome. Welcome because she needed to catch her breath and from the looks of it her partner did as well. Chris stood there gazing at her with an expression of disbelief and hesitation.

"Maybe we should call it a night. We agreed not to rush things," he said between breaths.

"After nearly ten years I don't think anyone would say we're rushing things Chris," Jill told him.

Her own words gave her the courage she needed. Jill covered the short distance between the two of them and caught his lips again with hers. This time she pulled him flush against her body and any thoughts he had of slowing things down crumbled completely. Jill felt the back of her legs hit the bed again, but this time the rest of her followed as did her partner. Chris' lips seemed to find a juncture on her neck that made her hitch her breath.

_Finally_

That was the last thought Jill Valentine managed for some time.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimers: I don't own Resident Evil or its characters, nor do I make any money off them. Also this is my first fanfic.

Chris

A stroke of lightning blinded Chris to his surroundings for just a moment. A second later the thunderous affirmation of the lightning storm filled his ears and Chris, at last, was able to view his surroundings. The sight was not one he welcomed.

He was standing in a large room on a dark red carpet that led straight to a flight of stairs that branched out to both the left and the right, leading up to the second story. A chandelier hung overhead casting pale light in aid of the few candles that dotted the room to provide illumination. Together they provided adequate light but only just so much as to cast the room into an eerie glow. The wooden finish to the doors and the banisters were impeccable, as was the decorations that were carved into them. The place was unmistakable and even after so many years Chris' mind held it vivid detail.

The Spencer Mansion in the Arklay Mountains. Where the nightmare began all those years ago.

Chris felt himself tense. Distantly a part of him realized he had to be dreaming. Still he couldn't help but feel the presence of danger. His dreams often led him back here. Sometimes he would find himself on Rockford Island, other times he would be in one of the many locales he had visited to fight bioterrorism since this night. Russia, China, France, or Germany it didn't matter, they all held an unwelcome place in his dreams. Yet for some reason Chris' mind most often brought him back here. In retrospect he assumed that he had lost more here than anywhere else. It was here that Chris had discovered his hopes for an ordinary life wouldn't be attainable. It was the loss of whatever innocence the young police officer he had been had left. It was the loss of his friends and the beginning of his life's mission.

Whatever it was that kept leading Chris back here, he knew one thing. Tonight's dreams would not be kind.

They never were.

Chris looked down at himself and saw himself in his old STARS uniform. It was not his twenty-five year old self he saw, but rather the stronger thirty-three year old battle hardened soldier he had become today. His old knife, he had lost, rested comfortably upside down in its sheath on his chest. The custom STARS Samurai Edge Beretta was in the holster on his leg. Chris pulled the weapon out and examined it with nostalgia. His eyes traced the STARS logo on the grip, remembering fonder times. It was a weapon he missed dearly not only for its firepower and reliability but for his sentimental attachment as well. As with his knife, Chris had lost his Samurai Edge years ago. Then he had been in the BSAA with Jill, across the globe in China fighting yet another living nightmare. More bad memories.

_One nightmare at a time Chris._

Chris put himself in a ready stance so he would quickly be able to fire at anything that moved and began to slowly walk towards the dinning room hall. Opening the door Chris peered in, ready to fire. It was empty. It was a large room with a long dinning table taking up the length of it. On its opposite end lay a burning fireplace and a door adjacent to it. The grandfather clock near one side of the room began to chime as he moved into the room. Another stroke of lightning flashed for a second, illuminating the room. His feet began to grow heavy as he neared the door at the other end of the room. He knew what waited him on the other side. The hall.

_And Kenneth.....and his killer._

Sometimes he could remember the faintest details from the distance his unconscious mind put between his dreams and his own memories of that night. The actual mansion was always in perfect detail but he couldn't always remember what he had fought where. Somehow though he always seemed to _know_ when he would find one of the bodies of his friends, even if he couldn't recall how he knew. It was his unconscious mind playing tricks with him to keep the horror fresh was all he could assume.

Taking a breath to ready himself, Chris began to reach out to the door knob when he heard the dinning room's double doors open. He whirled on instinct, his eye immediately lining up his shot. His sight found the darkness cloaked form and Chris' finger began to squeeze the trigger.

_One less monster._

Another flash of lightning brought light to the dim room and Chris was able to make out the new presence. In shock he stopped, feeling his eyes widen. His arm fell to his side. It wasn't the undead. It was a woman.

Dressed in her blue STARS uniform, the woman had her brown hair cut to her jaw line and was mostly obscured by the beret on top of her head. The twenty-two year old incarnation of Jill Valentine smiled at him as if she had caught him doing something he shouldn't have.

"You're going the wrong way Chris," she told him as she crossed the room towards him, footsteps echoing after every step. Her smile reached her eyes.

His confusion must have shown on his face because she laughed lightly at his expression.

"What other way can I go?" he asked. This was a bit different than his usual dreams. More often than night he had to face the mansion alone. Sometimes Jill was with him, but most often not. This Jill however, despite the weapon holstered on her leg, looked as though she wasn't expecting combat as the one who normally was with him did.

Energetically Jill took his hand and pulled him along with her. Their footsteps again echoed throughout the room adding the isolation the building somehow innately imposed. As if in ignorance of the threat that could be lurking around any corner Jill led them back into the mansion foyer and immediately headed towards the front door. Realizing her intention Chris stopped and held her hand in a strong grip so she couldn't move forward.

"Jill, don't. The dogs. Remember?" Chris told her.

Jill just kept on smiling at him. "Trust me Chris," she told him as stared up at him. "You do trust your partner don't you?"

Chris shivered a little at those words, a part of him remembering when she had asked him that at his kitchen table after they had found out Wesker was still alive.

"I don't want anything to happen to you," he said gazing back her eyes.

"Trust me," she asked him again.

Reluctantly he let go of her hand, but brought his weapon up at the ready. Jill just shook her head at him then opened the door. Nothing came through. Chris stared in disbelief for a moment before slowly following his partner outside, gun still ready to shoot anything that so much as twitched. It was cold and foggy outside but as far as Chris could tell the dogs weren't there. His dream addled mind protested they were always there so he maintained his grip on his weapon. Chris allowed his eyes to dart from spot to spot, looking for the monsters that had taken Joseph's life.

_Joseph. _An uncomfortable feeling moved into Chris' gut. He hadn't been there for his friend. Chris had been lucky he had managed to make it over in time to save Jill from joining their fallen comrade when she had frozen in horror at the grizzly sight of the pack of virus infect dogs savagely tearing their friend apart. It was yet another friend to avenge, another friend that had died when he shouldn't have. Another friend betrayed.

_Wesker. _The familiar anger found its way in, replacing the guilt that had been worming its way into Chris' stomach.

Jill came up along side him as just watched him. Her pale eyes seemed to follow the contours of his face then some appeared to look deeper, as if peering into him. Chris felt as though she was listening to his thoughts.

_If anyone could it would be her._

After a moment she spoke, "Come on Chris. Let's leave that place behind us." She reached out for his free hand again. Her face held a hopeful if tentative invitation, as though she didn't know if he would accept.

After a second's hesitation, he relinquished it to her grasp. Her smile grew all the wider when he did and she started to run, pulling him with her. Through the fog and the trees they ran. And as they ran the oppression of the forest, the fog, and the mansion seemed to recede.

Each step took them away from the mansion, away from the past and their nightmares. Each step the power of the place seemed to fade.

Stopping suddenly Chris laughed; finally feeling free of the shadow the mansion had cast over his life. Jill stopped with him and seeing his exhilaration joined in, her smile as she laughed rejuvenated Chris all the more. Holding hands and laughing like teenagers, it felt wonderful. The weight of duty and responsibility seemed to leave his shoulders. Maybe it was like Jill had told him when they were still in Europe and he had been looking for evidence of Wesker's death. Maybe there was something more for him out there. The warmth in the woman's hand he held and her eyes told him exactly that.

Then he heard it, distantly, coming through the trees. "Nnnnnoooooooooo."

A scream of absolute terror. A scream of panic The sound hit him like a blow to the face and Chris froze. He knew that voice. It was sound of his partner, just as she had screamed before she flung herself out a window to save him. It came from the mansion.

The Jill he was with froze up as well. Sudden fear replaced the lightheartedness that had been present only moments ago. She tugged on his hand as if trying to keep him moving, but he didn't budge. Chris turned his head back towards the mansion he had just left. He couldn't see it, only the trees of the forest and the fog that the trees seemed to wear as a death shroud were visible.

"Don't Chris," the woman at his side seemed to beg him. "Don't be a hero."

Chris didn't understand, he was with Jill right now but he knew somehow Jill was also back at the mansion and in peril.

"That was you? I know your voice," he asked. _How can that be?_

The Jill at his side became noticeably agitated. "Don't go back," she told him forcefully. "She wouldn't want it. They wouldn't want it."

"They?" he demanded. He didn't understand, not fully.

"You can't save everyone Chris," the young woman told him regretfully.

That got to him. Chris felt his resolve return. The old stubbornness that had always let him push on while others faltered. More than his skill with a gun or his physical strength, Chris' pure stubbornness was his greatest attribute. It always kept him going, even when the odds were impossibly stacked against him.

And they always were.

"Watch me," he told her.

Chris broke into a sprint. Rushing as fast as he could, the forest became a blur of branches. On he ran even after he was panting for air, even when his muscles begged for him to slow down. Chris Redfield had decided long ago he could slow down when he was dead. His friends needed him. Chris knew that now.

Abruptly the trees seemed to part and the mansion lay dead ahead of him. A howl entered the air and Chris saw three of the infected dogs waiting for him near the front door to the mansion. As one they leaped down the stairs running straight at him. Chris planted his feet and pulled his Beretta. In rapid succession he lined his shots and fired. Three bullets found three craniums and the beasts fell to their final rest.

As soon as the last beast found the ground, Chris broke into his run again. With strong force he slammed the front door open and found himself in the middle of the mansion foyer once more.

"JILL! WHERE ARE YOU? " he yelled at the top of his lungs.

_Please yell back_.

"CHRIS! HELP!" a voice answered, but it wasn't the voice of his partner.

_Rebecca._

Chris knew what he needed to do the moment he heard her. He sped through the halls of the mansion towards a room his memory told him to go. No zombies greeted his mad rush through the dark corridors of the mansion, but some how Chris could feel they were there. Watching.

_There._

Chris spotted the door he was looking for and flung it open, bringing his gun up. Just as in his memories, a hunter was backing a terrified Rebecca into a corner. The green monster menacingly approached, its growls a promise of the death it would visit upon her. Rebecca in panic tried to open a door that refused to budge, terror in her eyes as she saw her death not but a few feet away. Not hesitating Chris opened up and his shots found the monster's thick hide. Spinning towards him the hunter roared in surprise and pain. Chris aimed his shots at its face and his bullets broke teeth.

Blindly it rushed him its long claws swinging towards him. In the small room there was no room to dodge so Chris did the only thing he could thing of. He charged it. The impact knocked him down as they bounced off one another from the force of their collision. He felt the monster get knocked off balance as well. A claw tore into his side but for the most part Chris' sudden maneuver had knocked him and the creature apart, outside the creatures reach. Focusing he aimed at its eye and fired. He didn't stop firing until the clip emptied and the monster's brains covered the wall.

Grimacing Chris moved his hand towards his side and felt the warm wetness of his own blood. He didn't even bother to look down to see how bad it was. It wouldn't matter anyway; his friends were depending on him. He reached for another clip.

"Are you okay?" he asked the frightened girl.

"Yeah Chris. Thank you." The eighteen-year-old Rebecca told him. Just as the real Rebecca would have she moved to inspect his wound.

Another scream penetrated the halls this one from the mansion foyer.

"Another time," he told the girl. With one hand on his side and the other on his weapon he ran back out headed towards the foyer.

"Chris wait you're wounded!" he heard Rebecca call out after him, but he couldn't afford to slow down.

He ran again through the halls until he reentered the foyer at the front of the mansion. He immediately noticed something was wrong when he entered. The room looked the same but it wasn't. Everything felt a bit different. He realized what it was when he saw a greenish looking cocoon or web near the side of the stairs.

_Just like as it was in Antarctica. The recreation of the mansion. That means....Claire._

"CLAIRE!" he yelled out, rushing towards the cocoon.

Chris hadn't made it half-way when the sound of woman's mad laughter filled the room. Chris froze, his spine somehow jumping at the sound. Slowly he turned his head towards the upper balcony. A woman in a dark colored dress with blonde hair watched him with an expression that seemed to imply Chris was nothing more than an amusing insect to her. He knew her face.

"Alexia," Chris felt himself say from between his clenched teeth.

The woman rewarded him with a mocking laugh.

"So the brother comes at last," Alexia told him in that haughty tone of hers.

"I don't have time for this," Chris growled.

"You don't have much time at all fool," the woman replied, sneering at him.

Chris reacted with pure instinct, dodging to the side and continuing to roll out of the way. In the spot he had been a line of fire had erupted. The smell of flame and burnt carpet entered the air. Chris came out of his roll snapping his arms up to the balcony. He fired two shots before he found himself throwing himself into another roll. This time he wasn't as fast and felt part of his shirt near his arm catch fire. Chris kept rolling to put the flame out. His arm was hot and burned badly. He hissed in pain.

_Alexia, don't take your mind off Alexia._

Chris came out of his roll his gun searching for his adversary. The sound of that same forced but mocking laughter brought his attention to the stairs. Alexia gracefully came down the starts as if she were some noblewoman being introduced at a ball. Each step precise and with purpose as though allow her lessers to see her before she cast judgment on them.

"What could you have hoped to accomplished by coming here?" she asked as she began to move her arm to throw yet another gout of flame his way.

A single shot entered the air and the woman's head snapped back violently. Her body followed and collapsed upon the stairs, lifeless.

"I don't know, but that was pretty satisfying," Chris spat at the corpse.

Chris gazed down, allowing himself to see his wounds for once. The slash the hunter had given him along his ribs was particularly nasty and his forearm was bright red from the burns he had taken.

_I'll live._

Pushing his own well being out of his mind. Chris moved straight towards the cocoon like object on the side of the stairs. He holstered his weapon and pulled his knife and became to cut. As he did Chris reached out with his other arm and pulled until it was open enough he was able to reach his sister. Claire looked peacefully asleep as he removed her from where she was being imprisoned. For a moment he held her, savoring the moment. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind Chris remembered this was a dream. He never managed to save anyone in his dreams.

Tonight would be different, he told himself. First Rebecca, now Claire. He would save them all.

"Chris?" Claire's voice reached his ears and he saw she had opened her eyes.

"Hey there. Take it easy, you've been out a while," he told her gently.

"You came for me," she said in relief.

"I always will," Chris replied as softly as he could.

That wasn't true. He had failed to be there for her in Raccoon City and later again at Harvardville, but he meant to be there from now on. Claire was the last of his family. He would keep her safe. She was safe for now. That would have to be enough.

"Promise me you won't leave me?" she asked him in an almost child-like voice.

Yet another scream came from the second story. "Nnnnooooooooooooo" echoed through out the room.

It was the same scream that had brought his rushing like mad back towards his nightmares.

_Jill. _

Chris turned his head towards the direction of the scream. He felt his sister try to grab hold of his jacket. Trying to root him in place.

Chris wanted to stay. He wanted to promise his sister that he wouldn't leave, but he knew he couldn't. Claire was safe now, but Jill wasn't.

"I'll be back," was all Chris could say.

Not willing to leave his sister alone and unarmed Chris placed his Beretta next to her. The soldier in him took over then and Chris was moving before he even realized it. Charging, more like it. He was running up the flight of stairs to the second floor when he heard his sister cry out.

"Chris don't! Stay here!"

_Sorry little sister. _ Chris didn't look back......another woman needed him. His partner needed his help.

Not breaking stride Chris reached the second floor and immediately headed towards the nearest door. Violently he through it open and ran through. The minute Chris passed through the door's arch into the adjoining hall he grew overwhelmingly disoriented. Chris' vision couldn't seem to focus so all he saw was a blur, he felt dazed. Suddenly he realized he could no longer feel his feet touching the floor.

"Nnnnooooooooooooo," came the scream of fear once more. This time it sounded like it was in the same room.

Chris blinked trying to concentrate, this time it worked and everything came into focus.

He was looking down straight into the face of his nemesis. Albert Wesker was slowly moving his arm back, his hand shaped like a dagger into a killing blow. Wesker held him effortlessly off the ground with his other hand. Chris recognized the place and the moment. He was back in the library of the Spencer Estate in Europe just as he had been not even two weeks past. It was near the end of his quick battle versus Wesker. His former Captain had gained the upperhand and was about to deliver the death stroke, that was when Jill had......

Chris' eyes quickly darted over to another part of the room. Sure enough Jill was running full speed straight at them, just as she had then. A rapid flash of light blue she came on with no concern for herself.

Chris turned back to Wesker, readying himself to catch her so she wouldn't fall to her doom. Chris mockingly shot the man a smirk.

In response the blonde's man feral eyes flashed through his sunglasses, "That won't work this time Chris."

_Wha..._

Wesker exploded in a blur. Chris felt himself hit the floor as the man dropped him, then in a move to fast to see he pivoted and threw a kick. Right into Jill's stomach. Chris heard the air blast from her lungs and saw her fly back to the other side of the room from the force of the impact.

Wesker turned his head back to Chris, his face sneering, "This time she dies Christopher."

From the monster's posture, 'You get to watch' was all but said.

Dismissingly Wesker turned his attention away from Chris, back to Jill and started to stride towards her. A hunter stalking its prey.

Chris reacted with the only thing he could think of.

Chris grunted as he slammed into the other man. Glass shattered again but this time it was two men that fell through it, and there was no one to catch anyone this time. Chris felt the wind of his descent blow all around him. He tumbled end over end. With the air whipping past his ears he could barely hear anything else, but faintly heard a cry of "Chrriiiiiissssss." For a second he saw Jill, her face contorted in pain and horror reaching her hand out to him. Eyes screaming in denial just under her hat. Then all he could see was the ravine below.

And Chris Redfield could do nothing but fall.

Chris Redfield didn't remember when he hit the bottom. The next thing he was aware of was staring up at the clouds and the lightning storm that raged through them against the backdrop of the mountains on either side of his vision. He couldn't move.

He was helpless when the blonde man suddenly loomed over him, blocking his view of the flashing sky. A smug smirk painting his face.

"Nice move Chris," a condescending voice told him, the tone said the man in no way meant those words.

Another strike of lightning and red eyes flashed again from behind a pair of sunglasses.

The bottom of a boot appeared just in front of his vision, elevated just above his face.

"You managed to save everyone. But who will save you?"

The boot came down like a bolt of lightning striking the Earth.

And Chris Redfield woke up.

--------------

Chris jolted away, immediately sitting up in bed. The covers that had been covering his upper body immediately fell to his waist. Chris blinked rapidly trying to shake the last of the dream from his mind. The room was still pitch black and he couldn't distinguish a thing.

_That was an odd one._

As far as Chris' dreams went it hadn't actually been that bad. In fact in some ways it had actually been good, normally he never managed to help someone in his dreams. He couldn't count how many time he had been forced to watch Claire, Jill, or Rebecca die horribly while he watched helpless to do anything and then be killed in turn.

_My subconscious has it out for me._

Tonight had been different. He had made a difference. Perhaps his mind knew just how close they were to ending this nightmare once and for all. He had to wonder what his dreams would be like when Albert Wesker's victims had been avenged. Would he not dream? Would the dreams continue on in spite of Chris' actions or would he finally have pleasant dreams.

A hand found his bare chest and settled itself right above where his heart would be. The hand wasn't his.

_What?_

Chris felt his eyes widen in surprise and he almost jumped again. Memories of the previous night caught up to him then and Chris remembered. He remembered every last detail.

_Jill._

A light came on by the opposite side of the bed and Chris was forced to squint in order to see against the sudden intrusion of the light. He turned to his right and saw Jill Valentine moving her hand away from the light switch back to the sheets, which covered her body from just below her bare shoulders, down. In her pale blue eyes was a small mix of concern and questions. A single lock of hair came down from the top of her head to land near one of her eyes. Chris could tell by the alertness in her eyes she had woken up before he had.

"Hey, are you alright?" she asked him. Her hand on his chest applied a little pressure reassuringly.

Chris couldn't help but smile at the memories traveling through his mind and at her appearance. Truth be told he couldn't stop smiling if he wanted to. That thought only made the smile bigger.

_I must look like an idiot with a big grin like this._

"Yeah. I just had a weird dream thats all," he told her. He let his eyes take her in and drink her beauty. Despite his memories of the previous night and the sight that greeted, Chris couldn't but wonder if his mind was tricking him again.

Jill seemed to study him for a moment as if unsure whether he was lying, but his smile must have disarmed her for she relaxed after only a few seconds.

"I'll say. You started thrashing in your sleep a couple minutes ago. I wasn't sure whether to wake you up." she confessed.

"Did I wake you?" Chris asked.

He must have. _Damn. _He couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

Jill, though, looked down slightly away from him to avoid his eyes. "No I was up," she replied so softly it was hard to hear.

"Why couldn't you sleep? Was the mission on your..." he started but then she gave him a quick look to silently ask him to stop. Understanding came to Chris Redfield then.

_She was watching me sleep...._

"Busted," he whispered lightly.

Jill looked back at him and used her hand to hit him lightly on his chest. Her face was growing red though and she began to match the smile on his face.

_You're not the only one who can make someone blush Valentine._

Chris leaned back against the wall then moved his arm around her shoulders to hold her and in response Jill scooted over to be closer to him. Her head replaced her hand on his chest; she used her hands to pull the covers again to keep their bodies covered. He was sure she was doing it more for modesty's sake rather than for the warmth. Jill Valentine was shy, who would have thought?

Absently Chris used his fingers to trace figures on the skin of her back. As he did it, Chris felt Jill relax completely and he did in turn as well. The dream forgotten in the bliss of the moment. They laid there for minutes. Neither wanted to move, only enjoy in the presence of the other. Wrapped in the peace it brought him, Chris felt his eye lids grow heavy again.

Just like most things in his life, the alarm clock chose that moment to spite him.

Chris almost made a whining noise when Jill moved away to reach over to turn in off. Jill it seemed was as unhappy with the interruption as he was and immediately returned to his side.

"I set it a little early anyway. I wanted to make sure you had enough time to get back to your room to get ready." She said in a low voice.

That was a smart move. The last thing either of them would want was someone seeing Chris coming out of Jill's room after so visibly having spent the night there. One look at the glow on his face and everyone would know. It wouldn't matter what cover they constructed for his presence so early in her quarters. He needed to get cleaned up and ready for the mission.

_The mission...._

As much as Chris wanted to stay exactly where he was, it was time to put on his soldier face. The day had arrived at last; he was going to get his chance to bury his nightmares once and for all. One thing Chris Redfield could say with certainty was he planned to make the most of the shot he'd been given.

_Please let this be the end of this long dark road. _Chris wondered if today his unspoken prayers would be heard at last.

Chris moved out from the bed and started getting dressed. Jill stayed where she was just watching him for a second before moving to put on the clothes she had discarded herself last night . Chris couldn't help but look over at her once or twice, but every time he did he found his partner doing the same thing. That helped make the situation slightly less awkward for him. Chris had to laugh silently at the sudden and unexpected changes his life had taken in the last few days. It felt like his life had become a roller coaster, where the only thing he could do was hold on as he was sent from one extreme to the other. Of course that wasn't to say he wasn't happy with where it had led him.

Still Chris Redfield couldn't help but shake his head at the fact that the night before, potentially, the biggest fight of his life he had spent it....well as he had with Jill. Not that he was complaining, because he wasn't. Jill had certainly made it clear last night she was done waiting and secretly Chris couldn't have been happier. Despite that it may have been better if they had waited before taking their relationship to the next level. It was somewhat jarring to have to transition from Chris Redfield, guy who didn't want to leave the room with her until he would be dying from thirst, to Chris Redfield, BSAA SpecOps Agent. He would have preferred it if they could have acted like a normal couple would had just taken the step they had, not leaving each others presence for days. Of course they would be doing the polar opposite, entering a life or death situation. But as with everything else Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine could not be called normal.

_Enjoy what you can get._ _The rest will have to wait._ The advice that floated through his head was something Frost had told him once long ago. Chris had almost forgotten the day Joseph had told him that. The two men had gone out for beers after work and had been bemoaning the state of their love lives. It had been good-natured bonding between the two of them. It was odd after so long the words came back to him. Regardless the advice applied.

Finished hurriedly throwing his clothes on Chris started to the door. He opened it as quietly as he could and poked his head out. It was dark, only the weakest of the overhead lights were on to make it easier for the occupants to sleep. The hall was mercifully empty and as far as Chris could see there was no lights coming from any of the other rooms of the team members. That meant they were still sleeping.

_Good._

He turned around to see Jill had thrown back on her tank top and pants. She had a cautious expression as she approached him.

_Probably doesn't know what to say. Well that makes two of us._

"I ought to get going. We both need to get ready," he told her as he made eye contact. Somehow even so early in the morning her eyes were alluring.

She nodded and her eyes searched his face. He wasn't sure what she was looking for.

"Right, we don't have too much time left before the others will be waking up," Jill agreed.

Rather than move away from him however, she moved closer until she was standing less than a hair's length away. It was clear what she was waiting for. Chris obliged dipping his head to catch her lips with his own. Jill closed her eyes and grabbed his forearm to deepen the kiss. Chris immediately felt himself begin to respond. He wanted more, but unfortunately this was all they could have for the time being.

Chris pulled away and he could see Jill obviously wanted more as well. Still she opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"See you on the helipad," she told him.

Chris only nodded back to her and Jill closed her door, leaving him alone in the hallway. Chris couldn't help but notice the cold emptiness of the hall in comparison to the warmth he had just left.

Shrugging it off Chris took off towards his room. It was time.

As soon as he entered his room, Chris became a blur of activity. Immediately he changed into his combat clothing. A green and grey shirt with the BSAA logo, and a pair of white jeans. The shirt was breathable so he wouldn't overheat with a lot of physical activity, the jeans were sturdy so they would rip or tear easily so they would save his legs some cuts if he ended up having to slide a lot. Over that he put a black bulletproof vest. Next came his knee and elbow pads followed by his belt and harness with all his extra clips held in pouches on his belt. Chris had put his knife on the back of one of the straps to his harness allowing him to draw the blade from over his shoulder. It still felt a little funny but he couldn't imagine what else to do with a blade that large. Finally Chris put his Beretta and its holster on his leg.

Moving over to the mirror Chris examined himself, wanting to be sure he hadn't missed any straps. He hadn't. Stoically Chris nodded at his reflection in the mirror.

He was ready physically.

Mentally was another matter altogether. In his heart Chris Redfield was still in another room, not preparing for battle. In combat you had to throw your entire being into it. Your heart, your mind, and your body. Anything else and someone ended up dead. Chris knew what he needed to do.

Chris moved back to his bag and reached inside looking for a specific object. After only a moment he found it. It was the old STARS photograph that had been taken for the Raccoon City newspaper not long before the killings in the Arklay Mountains had started. The killings that had led them to the mansion, and for most of those in the photograph, to their doom. This was something of an old habit to Chris by now. Whenever he was heading out to a new mission he always seemed to go find it. The photograph was beginning to show its age as Chris held it between his fingers. The edges of the photo were bent in different directions from being thrown into a dozen different backpacks over the years. It was like a scab Chris couldn't make himself stop picking at. As he examined the faces of his fallen friends, Chris found the anger and resolve he needed.

_Joseph, Forest, Enrico, Richard, Kevin, Brad......._The litany of names Chris had long since committed to his memory as an oath and promise to the fallen flowed through his mind so loudly Chris wasn't sure if he was saying their names aloud.

It was his reminder, his burden, and reason to keep on fighting. He wouldn't let another tragedy befall those he cared about again.

Today he would make good on that promise.

Today would be the day the nightmares stopped.

Chris moved to another attaché case near his bag opening it. Inside was one of the SIG 556 assault rifles the team had brought with them. Chris took it as well as the spare clips the case carried.

_Almost ready._

Grimly Chris reached into his bag once more. His bag was near empty so he found what he wanted easily. A syringe with a colorful liquid floating inside. Chris couldn't help but caress the cure with the thumb of his hand. They both had a job to do.

_I'm coming for you Wesker._

It was time to make a world without fear.

Chris Redfield was ready.


End file.
